JTnT  TV 

ELD. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


OK, 


BY 


MRS.     C.     A.     WARFIELD. 

AUTIIOll    OF 

"THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVEKIE." 


"She  bids  me.  hope,  and  in  that  charming  word 
Has  peace  and  transport  to  my  soul  returned." — LYTTLETON. 

"Why  did  she  love  himt  curious  fool  be  still — 
Is  human  loot  the  growth  of  human  willt" — BTROK. 

"My  joy — my  best  beloved — my  only  wish. 
Sow  can  1  speak  the  transport  of  my  soulf"— ADDISON. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS; 

306   CHESTNUT    STREET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1875,  by 

T.  B.  PETERSON  A  BROTHERS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  0. 

MRS,  C,  A.  WARFIELD'S  NEW  WORKS. 

Each  is  complete  in  one  volume,  cloth,  price  $1.75. 

A  DOUBLE  WEDDING;  or,  HOW  SHE  WAS  WON. 

THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BO UV ERIE;  or,  the  Elixir  of  Gold. 

From  Marion  Harland,  author  of  "Alone,"  "Hidden  Path,"  etc. 
"  As  to  Mrs.  Warfield's  wonderful  book,  the  '  Household  of  Bouverie,'  I  have  read  it 
twice — the  second  time  more  carefully  than  the  first — and  I  use  the  term  '  wonderful,' 
because  it  best  expresses  the  feeling  uppermost  in  my  mind,  both  while  reading  and 
thinking  it  over.  As  a  piece  of  imaginative  writing,  I  have  seen  nothing  to  equal  it 
rince  the  days  of  Edgar  A.  Poe,  anrl  I  doubt  whether  he  could  have  sustained  himself 
and  the  reader  through  a  Look  of  half  the  size  of  the  '  Household  of  Bouverie.'  I  was 
literally  hurried  through  it  by  my  intense  sympathy,  my  devouring  curiosity — it  was 
more  than  interest.  I  read  everywhere — between  the  courses  of  the  hotel-table,  on 
tho  boat,  in  the  cars — until  I  had  swallowed  the  last  line.  This  is  no  common  occur 
rence  with  a  veteran  romance  reader  like  myself." 

From  Qail  Hamilton,  author  of  "Gala  Days,"  etc. 

" '  The  Household  of  Bouverie '  is  one  of  those  nuisances  of  books  that  plnck  out 
all  your  teeth,  and  then  dare  you  to  bito  them.  Your  interest  is  awakened  iu  the  first 
chaptar,  and  you  are  whirled  through  in  a  lightning-express  train  that  leaves  you  no 
opportunity  to  look  at  the  little  details  of  wood,  and  lawn,  and  river.  You  notice  two 
or  three  little  peculiarities  of  style — one  or  two  '  bite '  of  painting — and  then  you  pull 
on  your  seven-leagued  boots,  and  away  you  go." 

From  John  G.  Saxe,  the  Poet. 

'"The  Household  of  Bouverie  '  is  a  strange  romance,  and  will  bother  the  critics  not 
a  little.  The  interest  of  the  book  is  undeniable,  and  is  wonderfully  sustained  to  the 
end  of  the  story.  I  think  it  exhibits  far  more  power  tlian  any  lady-novel  of  recent 
date,  and  it  certainly  has  the  rare  merit  of  entire  originality." 

From  George  Ripley's  Rei-iew  of  "The  HousehoU  of  Boitvrrie"  in  Harper's  Magazine. 
"'The  Household  of  Bouverie'  betrays  everywhere  a  daring  boldness  of  conception, 
singular  fertility  of  illustration,  and  a  combined  beauty  and  vigor  of  expression,  which 
it  vould  be  difficult  to  match  in  any  recert  works  of  fiction.  In  these  days,  when  the 
most  milk-and-watery  platitudes  nre  so  often  welcomed  as  sibylline  inspirations,  it  is 
somewhat  refreshing  to  meet  with  a  female  novel-writer  who  displays  the  unmistakable 
fire  of  genius,  however  terrific  its  brightness." 


ftST"  Above  books  are  for  sale  by  all  Booksellers.  Copies  of  either  one,  or  both 
of  the  above  books,  will  be  sent  at  once  to  any  one,  to  any  place,  postage  pre-paid,  on 
remitting  their  price  in  a  letter  to  the  Publishers, 

T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 

3U6  CHESTNUT  SIKEET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


PS 


A  DOUBLE  WEDDING; 

OK, 

HOW  SHE  WAS  WOK 


BY   MRS.  C.  A.  WARFIELD. 
AUTHOR  OF  THE   "HOUSEHOLD  OF   BOUVEBIE." 


CHAPTER    I. 

"  Gazing — the  one  on  all  that  was  beneath, 
Fair  as  herself— but  the  boy  gazed  upon  her. 
And  both  were  young — yet  not  alike  in  years — 
The  boy  had  fewer  summers,  but  his  heart 
Had  far  outgrown  his  years,  and  to  his  eye 
There  was  but  one  bright  face  on  earth, 
And  that  was  shining  on  him." 

r  1 1HEY  sat  on  the  broad  tesselated  umbra  that  en- 
-L  closed  the  library  of  Birk-braes,  a  towered  and 
graceful  structure,  built  in  the  Italian  style,  and  gazed 
— she  on  the  setting  sun,  splendid  with  its  purple  and 
crimson  pall  of  clouds,  and  he  on  her,  likewise  declining 
orb,  if  the  beauty  and  freshness  of  young  maidenhood  be 
ail  worthy  of  the  name  of  youth. 

Mrs.  Thermor,  however,  was  far  from  old,  as  the  word 
goes,  though  the  widowed  mother  of  children  nearly 
grown  up.  Beautiful  in  youth,  she  was  still  beautiful 

1318622 


20  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OE, 

in  matronhood,  and  retained  many  of  the  perfections  of 
earlier  life  in  undiminished  splendor. 

The  man  who  seemed  by  the  ardor  of  his  gaze  literally 
to  drink  in  her  beauty,  was  younger  than  herself  by  a 
decade  of  years — and,  as  far  as  one  could  observe  on  first 
acquaintance,  was  of  the  type  called  "  pleasing,"  merely 
being  gentlemanly  in  appearance,  graceful  in  bearing, 
and  only  passably  good-looking.  But  those  who  knew 
him  better,  and,  so  knowing,  liked  him  more,  in  time 
assigned  to  him  a  charm  entirely  lost  on  strangers,  and 
declared  his  face  to  be  one  of  those  rare  ones  which  grow 
into  positive  beauty  on  intimate  inspection.  Very  shy 
rather  than  reserved,  yet  entirely  free  from  the  "  mau- 
vais  honte"  which  is  the  result  rather  of  an  over 
estimate  of  self  than  want  of  "  usage  du  monde." 

The  evidences  of  feeling  and  intelligence  which  in 
formed  and  rendered  interesting  his  aspect,  were  slow  to 
unveil  themselves ;  but  the  mask  of  frost  once  lifted,  the 
nature  beneath  was  found  to  be  gay  and  genial,  and  the 
manner  and  voice  that  interpreted  it  singularly  sweet 
and  graceful.  Good-breeding  had  set  its  indelible  signet 
on  these  as  well  as  on  his  person  and  bearing,  yet  it  was 
difficult  to  imagine  how  this  had  been  acquired. 

In  his  role  of  artist,  struggling  and  scarcely  yet  suc 
cessful,  he  had  seen  nothing  worth  the  name  of  good 
society,  if  we  except  one  man  of  .genius  who  now  and 
then  en  passant  extended  to  him  a  hand  of  good  fellow 
ship  or  cordial  recognition. 

And  yet  Bohemianism  was  a  style  of  life  from  which 
his  nicer  instincts  shrank ;  though  in  its  confederacy  he 
was  prized  as  a  spirit  singularly  sympathetic  and  true ; 
and  generous  even  to  Quixotism  in  the  cause  of  others. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  21 

Yet,  after  rendering  an  important  service,  he  often 
shrank  from  its  object  thereafter;  dreading,  perhaps, 
even  more,  with  his  fastidious  organization,  some  noisy 
manifestation  of  gratitude  than  the  necessity  of  repeated 
exertion. 

There  might  have  been  a  grain  of  selfishness  in  this 
peculiarity  of  his  nature ;  but  we  are  not  painting  perfec 
tion,  and  while  we  are  upon  the  subject  of  his  faults,  it 
may  be  as  well  to  confess  that  from  his  very  want  of 
conceit  and  self-praise,  he  was  open  to  flattery,  and  fre 
quently  victimized  through  this  weakness  by  the  design 
ing  of  both  sexes,  much  to  his  own  ultimate  disgust. 

He  was  of  pure  American  descent,  and  had  gentle 
blood  in  his  veins  on  both  sides,  of  a  good  old  Virginia 
strain,  but,  orphaned  early,  he  had  been  left  to  the  guar 
dianship  of  an  expatriated  uncle,  who  made  Paris  his 
home,  and  lived  on  his  liberal  income  in  faultless  apart 
ments  in  an  old  palace  of  St.  Germain e,  surrounded  with 
gardens  and  gay  parterres  and  box  and  cedar  trees — the 
delight  of  Mazeron — trimmed  into  all  manner  of  fan 
tastic  shapes. 

By  this  relative  young  Rivers  had  been  well  trained 
and  educated,  and  indulgently  suffered,  as  he  emerged 
from  boyhood  and  was  supposed  to  know  his  own  voca 
tion,  to  adopt  the  artist's  profession,  for  which  he  imag 
ined  himself  singularly  fitted  by  nature. 

On  this  subject  some  doubts  had  recently  crept  in,  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  not  only  on  his  own  part  but  on 
that  of  his  devoted  relative,  who  found  himself  suddenly 
deprived  in  his  old  age  of  all  but  a  very  small  portion 
of  his  revenue,  through  the  failure  of  an  important  bank 
ing  house  in  which  he  was  a  silent  partner,  and  who 


22  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

measured  success  very  materially  in  his  poverty  and  as 
he  had  not  done  in  his  days  of  affluence,  as  the  most 
disinterested  among  us  all  are  apt  to  do. 

"You  might  have  been  a  man  of  fortune  by  this 
time/'  he  said  on  his  death-bed,  "had  I  possessed  the 
strength  to  thwart  your  inclinations,  my  Mazeron,  and 
compelled  you  to  embark  in  commerce  or  to  study  a 
profession.  As  it  is  you  are  doomed  to  poverty  and 
mediocrity  all  your  days — you  have  not  the  true 
afflatus." 

The  words  sank  drearily  on  the  conscious  ear  of  the 
young  man  (who  hung  mournfully  above  the  pillow  of 
the  only  near  relative  he  had  ever  known  since  his 
parents  left  him  desolate),  and  took  conviction  home  with 
them. 

"  You  are  right,"  he  murmured ;  "  I  have  only  the 
hands  of  genius — not  its  eyes — the  hand  which  at  its  best 
is  mechanical,  mere  talent,  and  the  Promethean  fire  is 
wanting  in  my  organization.  My  groove  will  be  an 
humble  one  I  know,  but  it  is  too  late  to  leave  it,  and  I 
must  persevere  in  the  path  of  life  I  have  marked  out, 
whether  to  success  or  failure.  You  know  I  have  no 
versatility,  uncle,  only  the  power  to  proceed ;  so  bless  and 
pity  your  poor  imbecile,  and  wish  him  at  least  'God 
speed.' " 

"  My  best — my  noblest ! "  faltered  the  old  man,  who 
felt  rebuked  and  disarmed  by  such  patient  humility,  and 
who  loved  his  nephew  as  few  fathers  love  their  sons. 

A  few  days  terminated  their  mournful  intercourse; 
and  after  the  handsome  funeral  was  over,  and  a  memo 
rial-stone  carved  for  the  grave  in  Pere  la  Chaise,  ordered 
and  promptly  paid  for,  Mazeron  Rivers  found  himself 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  23 

the  possessor  of  one  thousand  francs  per  annum,  some 
antiquated  furniture,  handsome  but  unsalable,  and  a  few 
good  books  and  pictures  which  no  money  could  have 
bought  as  long  as  he  could  procure  bread  and  raiment. 
He  was  living  very  frugally  on  this  (for  his  art  brought 
him  barely  enough  to  meet  his  rent)  when  one  day  came 
liis  old  acquaintance,  Madame  Burgenheim,  with  a  propo 
sition  on  the  part  of  the  Countess  Cluche  that  he  should 
go  to  America,  with  all  expenses  defrayed,  and  paint  four 
members  of  her  family  residing  there,  at  one  thousand 
five  hundred  francs  each,  for  the  picture-gallery  she 
was  forming  at  her  chateau  in  Provence,  "  Les  Hiron- 
delles." 

At  first  an  honest  doubt  as  to  his  capacity  to  fill  these 
orders  crossed  the  mind  of  Mazeron  Rivers,  and  made 
him  hesitate  to  accept  an  offer  so  inviting — for  to  visit 
America  had  long  been  his  day-dream  and  earnest  wish 
rather  than  hope.  But  when  Madame  Burgenheim  dis 
tinctly  stated  that  it  was  in  consequence  of  such  speci 
mens  of  his  art  as  had  fallen  under  her  observation,  as 
well  as  the  fact  that  he,  like  herself,  was  partly  Ameri 
can,  that  this  offer  had  been  made  by  her  friend  and 
patroness,  the  Countess  Cluche' — who  had  lately,  he 
knew,  after  a  somewhat  stormy  youth,  succeeded  to  her 
father's  title  and  estates — he  deemed  himself  no  longer 
self-justified  in  declining  the  noble  proposition. 

Thus  it  is  accounted  for  how  Mazeron  Rivers,  a  per 
fect  stranger  to  Mrs.  Thermor  (the  aunt  of  the  Countess 
Cluche),  had,  when  we  first  beheld  them  on  the  umbra, 
been  already  domesticated  a  fortnight  at  "  Birk-braes," 
for  the  purpose  of  painting  the  lovely  lady  who  resided 
there,  and  her  pretty  daughter  Eugenie,  for  her  French 


24  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

relative — now  first  introducing  herself  to  their  closer 
acquaintance  by  an  act  of  gracious  interest  and  affection. 

The  ice  had  been  broken,  it  is  true,  a  few  months  ear 
lier  by  Mrs.  Thermor  herself,  who  wrote  rather  formally 
to  know  if  it  lay  in  the  power  of  the  Countess  Cluche 
to  recommend  to  her  a  proper  governess  for  her  daughter, 
from  whom  she  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  being  sepa 
rated.  Her  two  elder  children  were  sons — one  in  the 
navy,  another  at  West  Point.  She  saw  them  just  often 
enough  to  mark  the  rapid  changes  from  childhood  to 
youth,  from  youth  to  budding  manhood,  so  that  they 
might  not  wholly  outgrow  her  maternal  recognition,  and 
she  came  at  last  to  loo1'  upon  them  as  not  very  widely 
different  from  panoramic  pictures  suddenly  presented  and 
as  suddenly  withdrawn,  or  mere  animated  dissolving 
scenes. 

But  Eugenie  was  a  different  matter  altogether.  The 
touch  of  those  soft  hands,  the  light  of  those  sweet  eyes, 
the  sound  of  that  delicious  voice  and  ringing  laugh,  were 
quite  as  important  to  the  daily  well-being  of  her  mother 
as  the  air  she  breathed  or  the  water  she  drank.  A  board 
ing-school  for  Eugenie,  indeed !  the  very  thought  was 
desecration,  and  yet  to  procure  a  suitable  and  proper 
French  governess  —  the  desideratum  —  speaking  pure 
Parisian,  moral  and  with  all  the  accomplishments,  was 
an  achievement  she  had  hitherto  found  perfectly  unat 
tainable. 

She  had  reason  so  far  to  be  perfectly  contented  with 
Mademoiselle  Marie  Minande,  the  young  person  who, 
without  further  correspondence,  had  presented  herself 
very  suddenly  one  day  with  credentials  from  her  trans- 
Atlantic  noble  relative. 


HOWSHEWASWON.  25 

"She  is  a  good  little  thing,"  ran  the  Countess'  letter  of 
introduction,  "  and  has  been  trained  in  a  hard  school, 
therefore  well  brought  up.  Her  natural  capacity  exceeds 
her  attainments,  I  think.  But  she  speaks  and  writes 
pure  French,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  true  and  honor 
able,  and  I  know  her  pretty  well.  As  to  her  manner, 
'quant  a  ces  mannieras/  you  must  judge  for  yourself — 
they  are  not  distinguished,  certainly,  and  she  has  some 
little  odd  ways  that  are  not  altogether  pleasant,  even  to 
me,  who  am  inclined  to  be  indulgent  toward  her  pecu 
liarities.  But  she  is  a  favorite  with  Madame  Burgenheim, 
my  dear  old  governess,  and  this  is  much  in  her  praise, 
according  to  my  simple  opinion.  Try  her  for  four 
months,  and,  if  you  do  not  like  her  at  the  end  of  that 
time,  I  will  remove  her  at  my  own  expense.  One  of  her 
objects  in  going  to  America  is  to  learn  English,  which 
she  will  do  in  all  its  pristine  purity  in  your  family,  I 
cannot  doubt;  and  'ainsi,'  the  matter  of  salary  is  not 
very  important  to  her,  so  that  it  includes  independence. 
Perhaps  I  may  be  with  you  myself  in  the  autumn,  partly 
in  the  hope  of  persuading  you,  my  dear  mother's  only 
surviving  sister,  to  return  with  me  to  '  Les  Hirondelles,' 
and  complete  Eugenie's  education  in  one  of  our  sweet, 
safe,  cavernous  provincial  convents,  where  mothers  feel 
that  their  young  doves  are  cherished  and  protected,  as 
they  can  be  in  no  other  seminaries,  by  the  patient,  pious, 
and  accomplished  nuns,  earth's  angels  in  human  guise,  as 
I  believe." 

The  letter  was  signed  "  E.  M.  R.,  Countess  Cluche," 
which  initials  Mrs.  Thermor  readily  interpreted  to  stand 
for  Eugenie  Marie  Ruffin,  the  name,  she  knew,  of  her 
aunt's  eldest  daughter. 


26  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

"  I  never  knew  which  of  the  sisters  it  was  that  died 
until  now,"  she  murmured,  as  she  scrutinized  the  accom 
panying  miniature,  beautiful  as  a  portrait  and  as  a  \vork 
of  art,  painted  on  ivory  and  with  the  name  "  Eugenie " 
inscribed  on  the  back,  beyond  which  there  was  no  refer 
ence  to  its  identity.  "There  were  two  of  them  —  one 
plain  and  one  handsome — so  as  this  is  an  exquisite  face, 
it  belonged,  of  course,  to  the  elder;  besides,  isn't  there 
her  name  on  the  other  side  ?  I  cannot  doubt,  however, 
that  it  was  taken  years  ago.  See  how  old  the  fashion  of 
her  dress  is,  and  she  no  doubt  is  quite  passd  by  this  time, 
like  all  old  maids,  though  very  little  older  than  I  am,  if 
so  old !  There,  let  me  think,  aunt  was  married  before 
I  was  born  to  the  Count  Cluche,  a  perfect  'Robert  le 
Diable'  of  a  man,  if  accounts  be  true,  and  this  was  their 
first  child ;  then  came  the  son  who  died ;  then  another 
daughter,  during  whose  infancy  poor  aunt  was  relieved 
of  her  doleful  captivity  at  'Les  Hirondelles'  by  the 
gentle  hand  of  death  ! 

"  The  song  now  so  much  in  vogue  no  doubt  originated 
about  that  dreary  old  chateau.  'When  the  swallows 
homeward  fly,' "  humming  it  carelessly.  "  What  a  wail 
it  has  with  it  to  be  sure — like  the  night  winds  in  Sep 
tember,  blowing  off  the  marshes.  I  never  can  see  what 
people  admire  in  such  doleful  ditties,"  and  she  shook  her 
magnificent  curls,  and  showed  her  white  teeth  in  a  smile 
that  lit  the  solitary  chamber,  as  she  laid  away  the 
miniature. 

"  So,  this  is  the  Countess  Cluche  at  twenty,  I  suppose ; 
let  it  be  hoped  that  she  holds  her  own  at  five-and-thirty 
— that,  I  believe,  must  be  about  her  age — and  let  it  also 
fervently  be  trusted  that  she  has  laid  aside  the  little,  flat 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  27 

ringlets  of  her  girlhood,  or  rather,  of  grandmamma's  time, 
to  resume  them  no  more — short  waists  and  all  such  hor 
rors,  thank  heaven,  are  out  of  fashion — notwithstanding 
the  insanity  of  artists — and  scarfs  are  only  fit  for  crazy 
people  who  require  to  be  dressed  occasionally  in  their 
own  attire;  yet  there  is  an  azure  abomination  of  that 
sort  which  does  duty  as  a  cloud  in  that  miniature,  and 
the  boddice  and  sleeves  are  deplorable !  But  the  face ; 
'  aye,  there's  the  rub ;'  mine  can't  be  compared  to  it,  per 
fect  as  they  call  it.  I  suppose  Eugenie  resembles  her 
mother,  whom  mamma  always  said  was  the  beauty  par 
excellence  of  the  family ;  and,  therefore,  I  suppose  she 
was  chosen  out  to  be  sacrificed  to  Moloch  or  Mammon, 
one  or  both,  like  all  lovely  things!  Catch  an  old 
heathen  priest  offering  up  a  swarthy,  deformed  girl,  or 
even  heifer,  to  one  of  his  grim  idols !  All  must  be  peer 
less — perfect !  Doves,  lambs,  fair  maidens,  and  the  like 
— oh!  the  whole  system  is,  was  detestable" — and,  so 
saying,  the  drawer  was  locked  impetuously  that  enclosed 
from  that  moment  the  ivory  miniature  of  her  cousin ; 
?nd,  with  a  parting  glance  at  the  mirror,  Mrs.  Thermor 
turned  to  welcome  the  newly  arrived  Mademoiselle 
Minande. 

But  all  this  time  we  have  Mazeron  Rivers  and  Mrs. 
Thermor,  the  one  silently  contemplating  the  beautiful, 
half-averted  face  of  the  fairest  lady  of  the  haut  ton — he 
had  ever  known — and  the  other  watching  the  dying  day 
with  a  vague  sort  of  admiration  that  at  last  found  outlet 
in  the  commonplace  remark  and  question,  "A  lovely 
sunset,  isn't  it,  Mr.  Rivers?  Do  you  think  you  could 
paint  it  ?  " 

"  No,  madam,  I  do  not  think  I  could,"  answered  the 


28  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

young  man  as  thus  appealed  to.  His  eyes  followed 
those  of  his  interlocutor  with  a  dreamy  rapture  which 
seemed  only  a  continuation  of  his  recent  mood.  "  The 
human  face  is  all  that  I  aspire  to." 

"  Self-complacent,  truly  !  As  if  one  beautiful  human 
face  were  not  worth  a  hundred  sunsets  and  ten  times 
more  difficult  to  paint." 

"  Of  this  there  is  little  question ;  yet  I  think  the  voca 
tion  of  the  landscape  and  sky  painter  the  rarest,  the 
purest,  of  all  others,  and  one  requiring  more  innate  fire, 
perhaps.  A  man  of  mediocrity  often  catches  his  inspira 
tion  from  his  theme,  especially  where  it  is  lovely,  and 
woman,  his  subject,  assists  him."  And  he  bowed  slightly, 
significantly. 

The  lady  smiled  at  the  implied  compliment.  She  was 
used  to  adulation,  and  it  did  not  move  her  profoundly, 
come  from  whom  it  might ;  but  the  man  was  so  fresh, 
rather  than  green,  that  praise  from  his  lips  had  a  savor 
about  it  like  clover  or  sea  breezes. 

She  looked  at  him  with  a  merry  flash  of  her  large 
brown  eyes,  half  pleased,  half  arch,  and  a  little  derisive 
withal ;  and  even  in  the  dying  light  she  saw  how  her 
glance  made  the  red  blood  mantle  his  pale  cheek  and 
brow ;  and  yet  he  returned  her  look  earnestly  and 
ardently. 

"  He  is  made  of  good  stuff,"  she  thought ;  "  both  timid 
and  fierce.  Yet,  good  heavens !  what  presumption  under 
lies  his  humility  !  What  if  he  were  really,  truly  falling 
in  love  with  me ;  wouldn't  it  be  amusing  ?  " 

And  she  laughed,  a  half  embarrassed  laugh — such  as 
was  foreign  to  her  lips — and,  turning  away,  invited  him 
to  follow  her  into  the  drawing-room,  already  lit  with 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  29 

lamps  and  wax  lights,  as  was  the  evening  custom  at 
Birk-braes,  and  in  which  the  few  guests  of  the  house, 
which  was  rarely  solitary,  were  already  assembled  for  the 
evening  festivity. 

These  temporary  sojourners  consisted  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lindsay  and  their  daughters,  old  friends  from  Baltimore, 
and  Rose  and  Lionel  Blamire,  the  Scottish  niece  and 
nephew  of  the  deceased  Mr.  Thermor,  who  had  come  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  United  States,  and  stopped  at  Birk- 
braes  to  condole  with  their  aunt  and  cousin,  whose 
bereavement  dated  back  at  the  time  of  the  commence 
ment  of  our  story — only  two  years.  To  the  surprise  of 
these  conventional  British  minds,  they  found  that  their 
relatives  had  already  emerged  from  weeds,  and  that  with 
her  mourning  she  had  thought  it  advisable  to  cast  oft*  as 
much  as  possible  all  memory  of  her  husband — or  at  least 
all  mention  thereof. 

She  had  spoken  of  him,  it  is  true,  very  feelingly  and 
sweetly,  and  even  with  a  few  tears,  when  the  young 
people  first  arrived ;  to  each,  in  turn,  she  eulogized  his 
virtues  up  to  the  utmost  requisitions  of  the  most  exact 
ing,  but  from  that  hour  his  name  was  never  breathed 
before  them,  save  when  occasionally  Eugenie  would  find 
herself  in  Rose  Blamire's  chamber  quite  unguarded,  and 
there  pour  out  her  innocent  reminiscences  of  "dear 
papa." 

He  had  been  absent  very  much  at  one  time,  and  ill 
very  long  at  another,  she  informed  her  cousin,  was 
greatly  older  than  mamma,  and  occupied  a  separate 
apartment,  because  of  his  misfortunes  and  because 
mamma  had  never  been  able  to  sleep  without  being  near 
enough  to  touch  her  dear  Eugenie  from  time  to  time,  and 


30  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

make  sure  that  she  was  by  her  side  in  good  condition 
through  the  watches  of  the  night. 

"  Mamma  is  so  nervous  about  me,  you  know,"  added 
Eugenie,  sagely,  "  because  I  am  the  only  daughter." 

"I  suppose  that  is  the  American  custom,"  thought 
Miss  Blamire,  sighing  as  she  remembered  how  different 
was  the  evidenced  devotion  of  her  own  father  and 
mother,  of  whom  she  had  been  deprived  in  childhood, 
towards  one  another ;  and  how  she,  in  sacrifice  to  this 
superior  sentiment,  had  been  committed  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  nurse  Blake  and  the  walls  of  her  great  nursery, 
where  stern  discipline  and  relentless  order  reigned  su 
preme. 

"  You  must  have  been  very  happy  to  have  enjoyed  so 
much  of  your  mother's  society,"  Rose  Blamire  hazarded. 
"  But  my  poor  uncle ;  was  he  never  a  little  bit  solitary  ?" 

"  Oh,  never !  He  had  Fritz,  his  German  valet,  and 
Juba,  his  own  boy — and  Dr.  Mandamus  nearly  all  the 
time  in  his  room.  Besides  mamma  always  sat  with  him 
a  few  hours  every  day,  just  to  cheer  him,  you  know,  and 
I  read  the  newspapers  to  him  sometimes — such  disagree 
able  sort  of  reading,  Cousin  Rose — did  you  ever  try  it  ?  " 

"Not  often,  dear;  Lionel  prefers  to  read  them  for 
himself,  and  I  have  no  one  else,  you  know." 

"  I  thought  mamma  said  you  were  engaged  to  Major 
Stanley.  Don't  you  have  him  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  but  you  must  not  speak  of  that  yet ;  and  beside, 
we  never  read  newspapers  together,"  coloring  violently 
as  she  spoke,  and  turning  away  to  hide  a  quiet  smile. 

"  What  then — Moore's  poems  and  kiss  papers  ?  " 

"  No,  no ;  better  things.  Ruskin  and  Tennyson  and 
dear  Mrs.  Browning.  There,  Eugenie,  run  away  now 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  31 

for  a  little  while ;  it  is  late,  and  I  have  my  hair  to  dress 
to-day.  Mrs.  Jones  is  laid  up  with  a  felonious  finger, 
and  then — and  then — my  letter  is  still  unwritten."  So, 
with  a  kiss,  Eugenie  was  dismissed. 

Had  Rose  Blamire  heard  her  aunt's  alleged  reason  for 
leaving  off  her  weeds  at  the  earliest  possible  conventional 
time,  when  a  true  and  earnest  friend  had  remonstrated 
with  her  on  what  seemed  an  infringement  on  matronly 
etiquette  as  observed  in  her  own  circles,  she  might  have 
felt  more  inclined  to  forgive  her  on  the  score  of  frank 
frivolity  than  she  was  on  that  of  indifference  to  her  de 
ceased  relative,  based  on  infirmity  and  difference  of  years. 

"  It  is  very  well,"  she  had  replied  to  the  conventional 
person  who  had  seen  fit  to  eulogize  the  constancy  of  a 
certain  dame  who  never  suffered  a  shade  of  gray  or  pur 
ple  to  intrude  on  the  severe  contrasts  of  black  and  white, 
that  after  five  years  of  widowhood  still  characterized  her 
costume,  "all  very  well  for  Mrs.  Vanness,  who  has  the 
face  and  pose  of  a  marble  statue,  to  continue  to  robe  her 
self  in  the  attire  that  best  becomes  her,  and  she  knows  it 
well ;  but  mourning  simply  extinguishes  me — there  is  no 
other  word  for  it." 

"  I  am  sure,"  she  continued,  "  dear  Mr-.  Thermor 
would  never  have  wished  to  see  me  miserable,  could  he 
have  directed  matters — although  he  did  leave  that  in 
junction  which  prevents  my  taking  Eugenie  to  France 
until  she  is  over  eighteen,  or  leaving  her  for  one  day, 
under  certain  penalties,  which,  I  am  sure,  his  executors 
would  be  very  glad  to  exact.  However,  his  old  attach 
ment  to  sister  Eugenie  and  his  detestation  of  Count 
Cluche  might  have  sufficiently  accounted  for  that ;  but 
no  man  ever  enjoyed  to  see  his  wife  elegantly  and  suit- 


32  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

ably  apparelled,  or  idolized  a  woman  more  than  he  did 
me,  in  his  peculiar  way — (he  was  very  peculiar,  we  all 
know!)  He  used  to  say  to  me,  smiling  (I  think  I  see 
him  yet — you  remember,  Matilda,  how  his  eyes  were 
caught  at  the  corners  and  how  comically  they  sparkled 
when  he  laughed) — '  Isabella,  my  love,  fashion  is  as  essen 
tial  to  your  bien  etre  as  sunshine  to  a  sunflower — a  but 
terfly  and  color  are  the  soul  of  your  artistic  beauty.' 
And  so  it  is.  I  require  a  rich  setting — not  that  I  liken 
myself  to  a  gem  of  price  by  any  means :  but  I  need  re 
lief  and  worship  all  lovely  hues.  So  that  sometimes  I 
am  brought  to  believe  that  I  am  akin  to  Iris  and  came  to 
earth  on  a  rainbow,  with  the  fragments  of  which  I  can 
not  bear  to  part." 

And  thus  she  prattled  on,  until  Mrs.  Selman,  con 
vinced  against  her  will  that  the  rainbow  tints  of  fashion 
succeeding  the  vanished  storm  of  sorrow  were  indeed  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  moral  atmosphere  which  sur 
rounded  Mrs.  Thermor,  rose  to  depart — and  came  no 
more  to  preach,  or  counsel  or  persuade,  though  none  the 
less  a  friend  and  casual  visitor. 

"As  if  one  could  or  ought  to  mourn  forever/'  said  Mrs. 
Thermor,  shaking  her  sunny  curls,  as  her  mentor  de 
parted.  "Why,  two  years  out  of  a  woman's  lifetime 
make  a  terrible  breach  in  the  Chinese  wall  of  existence, 
and  age  one  considerably,  especially  at  my  time  of  life — 
(I  declare  if  there  is  not  a  wrinkle  under  my  left  eye,  in 
spite  of  cold-cream!) — and  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Littlepage  was  perfectly  right  when  he  said  in  Mr. 
Thermor's  funeral  sermon  '  that  not  for  all  the  treasures 
of  the  earth,  and  not  even  to  dry  the  tears  of  beloved 
mourners,  would  his  lamented  friend  return  to  his  mortal 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  33 

frame  again.'  To  die  twice  would  be  very  disagreeable, 
heigh-ho ! — I  wonder  how  it  feels  at  any  time !  But 
there  is  not  a  particle  of  use  in  thinking  about  it  until 
the  time  comes,  and  we  can't  help  ourselves." 

Something  seems  to  tear  one  away  from  the  vicinity  of 
Mrs.  Thermor  and  her  guests  whenever  I  begin  to  de 
scribe  them  or  their  surroundings.  Let  us  return  to  the 
great  well-lighted  drawing-room,  through  the  lace-veiled 
windows  of  which  soft  airs  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  are 
sighing,  fraught  with  all  balmy  spring  odors,  and  espe 
cially  laden  with  the  fresh,  clean  fragrance  of  a  neigh 
boring  lilac  hedge. 

Up  and  down  the  room  like  two  stately  young  stags 
walk  Rose  and  Lionel  Blamire — brother  and  sister — sin 
gularly  devoted  to  one  another ;  singularly  alike  and 
never  very  well  satisfied  to  be  apart. 

They  disturb  no  one  with  their  noiseless  steps  on  the 
thick,  white  Axminster  carpet  strewn  with  roses;  and 
the  sight  of  their  flexile  forms  and  graceful  movements 
is  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and  lends  life  to  the  otherwise  still 
apartments ;  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lindsay  and  their  hostess 
form  one  stiif  group,  and  the  Misses  Lindsay  and  Maze- 
ron  Rivers  another,  and  there  is  little  congeniality  any 
where  to  be  observed. 

On  a  remote  sofa,  but  sufficiently  near  a  lamp  for  her 
busy  purposes,  sits  the  little  French  governess,  Marie 
Minande ;  and  by  her  side  nestles  the  slender  form  of 
her  pretty  pupil,  over  whom  she  seems  to  exercise  an 
almost  magnetic  influence. 

By-and-by  the  lady  of  the  house  rises,  willing  to  break 
the  ice  that  seems  to  surround  each  group  in  the  most 

effectual  way,  and  crossing  the  spacious  apartment  stands 
2 


34  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

carelessly  in  front  of  Mademoiselle  Minande,  who,  wholly 
engrossed  in  her  crochet-work,  scarcely  lifts  her  head  at 
the  approach  of  the  lady  of  Birk-braes,  which  negligence 
on  the  part  of  one  so  situated  draws  from  between  the 
teeth  of  Mr.  Rivers  a  half-suppressed  expression  of  con 
tempt  and  indignation.  "  L'impertinente ! "  he  mur 
mured  ;  and  his  eye  followed  every  movement  of  that 
grand  and  graceful  form,  with  its  trailing  robes  of  em 
broidered,  snowy  Indian  muslin,  worn  over  rose-colored 
silk  as  if  it  had  been  that  of  a  goddess. 

"  Mademoiselle  Minande,"  commanded,  rather  than 
demanded,  Mrs.  Thermor,  in  her  very  blandest  tones, 
"Will  you  be  good  enough  to  give  us  some  music? 
Schubert,  if  you  please." 

The  strangest  expression  passed  over  the  small,  quiet 
face  of  the  governess  that  had  yet  appeared  upon  its  sur 
face  during  the  whole  three  months  of  her  stay  at  Birk- 
braes  (oddly  as  she  often  looked),  as  she  arose  to  obey 
the  mandate  of  her  employer,  deliberately  winding  up, 
before  doing  so,  her  crochet  work  and  stuffing  it  in  the 
pocket  of  her  neat  black  silk  apron,  an  article  of  attire 
which,  change  its  material  as  she  might,  she  never  wholly 
relinquished.  It  seemed  the  one  mark  of  caste  that  she 
had  purposely  assumed  in  order  to  defend  herself  from 
all  imputation  of  the  folly,  nay,  the  crime,  it  might  even 
seem  to  some,  of  emulation  with  those  so  indisputably 
above  her  in  worldly  position — that  class  dubbed  by  a 
witty  writer  of  the  period  (a  journalist  named  Willis) 
the  upper  ten. 

Followed  by  Eugenie,  she  meekly  walked  to  the 
piano — always  opened  at  this  house — but  on  which  Mrs. 
Thermor  herself  was  but  an  indifferent  performer  (a  fact 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  35 

of  which  she  was  too  conscious  to  often  intrude  her  own 
imperfection  on  her  guests),  and  began  at  once  and  with 
out  preamble  to  sing  Schubert's  magnificent  "  Serenade  " 
with  a  voice,  a  feeling,  a  power  that  silenced  and  concen 
trated  the  whole  company  in  one  thrilled  and  admiring 
group  about  the  piano.  It  was  as  if  the  voice  of  a  lark 
or  a  mocking-bird  should  suddenly  burst  from  the  throat 
of  a  ground-sparrow.  The  effect  was  magical,  electrical. 
Even  the  censorious  and  impassive  artist  was  drawn  out 
of  himself  to  approach  her  when  the  rest  were  gone  (for 
she  declined  to  sing  again  and  quietly  resumed  her  seat), 
and,  after  his  congratulations  in  a  tongue  almost  incom 
prehensible  to  Eugenie — "  Vous  chantes  bien,  Mademoi 
selle  Minande,  et  '  con  amore ; '  vous  aver  bien  etudiee 
cependant?"  . 

"  Merci,  Monsieur,"  and  the  cool  blue  eyes  were  for  a 
moment  lifted  to  his  own,  rayed  and  rimmed  as  they 
were  with  purple,  and  capable  of  darkening  on  occasions 
to  that  intense  and  passionate  hue. 

He  had  never  looked  into  such  eyes  before — they 
startled,  they  astonished  him,  as  a  quiet  mountain  tarn 
might  do  a  stag  that  bent  to  drink  of  its  clear,  deep 
waters — with  its  transparency,  with  its  depth.  He  had 
never  before  even  imagined  such  tranquil  self-possession 
in  human  orbs. 

"But  Mademoiselle  has  not  replied,"  he  pursued  in 
French,  "  to  my  little  interrogatory  as  to  the  study  she 
has  given  her  art." 

"  It  is  not  my  art  par  excellence,  Monsieur,  only  one 
of  them,"  she  responded  in  th$  same  language;  "par 
example,"  and  she  raised  before  him  the  bit  of  crochet 
work  on  which  she  was  employed.  "  I  also  dance  and, 


36  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

sketch — both  better  than  I  sing,  and  practise  stenog 
raphy." 

"  Mademoiselle  is  apparently  very  accomplished,"  and 
he  bowed. 

"  Oui,  tres  accomplie,"  was  the  cool  reply. 

"  My  ball,  Monsieur,  if  you  please ;  it  is  on  the  floor 
beside  you ;  it  inconveniences  me  to-night  to  stoop  or  I 
would  not  trouble  you;  I  have  megraine,"  and  she 
clasped  her  hands  closely  across  her  brow,  on  which 
large  violet  veins  were  throbbing  visibly.  "  Merci, 
Monsieur.  Come,  Eugenie,  I  must  retire,  and  'tis  best 
you  should  go  too ;  I  suffer  too  much  to  remain.  Mon 
sieur  will  have  the  goodness,  perhaps,  to  make  our  excuse 
to  Madame."  And  taking  it  for  granted  that  Mazeron 
Rivers  would  take  charge  of  her  excuses  and  duly  deliver 
them,  Mademoiselle  Minande,  followed  by  her  pupil, 
rose  and  left  the  room  without  another  look  in  the  direc 
tion  of  her  late  companion,  who  stood  transfixed  by  the 
calm  assumption  of  "  cette  petite  grisette,"  as  he  mentally 
entitled  her,  who  was  his  peer. 

Rose  Blamire  was  already  singing  her  repertoire  of 
beautiful  English  ballads,  and  when  she  had  concluded 
"  The  Sea,  the  Sea,  the  Open  Sea,"  supper  was  served. 
Mr.  Rivers  and  Lionel  Blamire  exerted  themselves  to 
rouse  the  dormant  spirits  of  the  remaining  guests  so  suc 
cessfully  that  the  evening  that  had  opened  somewhat 
dismally  terminated  in  the  midst  of  smiles  and  badinage 
and  merry  anecdote,  with  a  little  open  flirtation  between 
the  fair  hostess  and  the  youthful  artist,  which  those  who 
penetrated  not  the  surface  conceived  to  be  nothing  more 
than  a  part  of  the  entertainment  provided  for  the  general 
amusement.  But  Rose  Blamire  saw  deeper  with  those 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  37 

disinterested  eyes  of  hers  (engaged  women  are  proverb 
ially  clear-sighted  in  all  "  affaires  du  cceur  "  of  others), 
and  she  told  Lionel  next  morning,  quite  confidentially, 
that  it  would  not  surprise  her  at  all  if  her  aunt's  next 
folly  would  be  to  marry  "  that  penniless,  designing  artist, 
whose  part  was  very  well  played,  it  must  be  confessed." 

"  If  part  it  was,"  added  Lionel,  shaking  his  knowing 
head.  "  The  truth  is,  Rose,  there  is  a  time  of  life  when 
all  women  grow  crazy,  unless  kept  in  restraint  by  matri 
mony.  These  widows  of  forty  are  the  very  deuce. 
Great  heavens  !  why  don't  they  introduce  the  Suttee  in 
America  along  with  other  Indian  innovations — opium, 
narghilas,  and  the  like?  I  never  could  see,  anyhow, 
why  women  cared  to  survive  their  husbands." 

"  Nor  I,"  answered  demure  Rose  Blamire,  thinking 
of  distant  Captain  Stanley  and  his  possible  fate  in  the 
Crimea — adding,  a"* moment  later,  "except  when  there 
are  children  to  be  cared  for,  Lionel.  After  all,  aunt  is 
very  devoted  to  Eugenie,  and  we  must  not  be  so  cen 
sorious.  I  may  be  mistaken  as  to  the  artist.  Please  do 
not  let  me  prejudice  your  judgment  in  this  matter.  I 
only  felt  that  I  must  tell  you,  as  I  always  do,  what  I 
saw  and  thought." 

"  There  is  one  comfort — the  boys  will  soon  be  at  home, 
one  or  both,  and  trust  them  for  nosing  out  a  scent  where 
a  mother  is  concerned.  If  the  Frenchman  does  not 
finish  his  pictures  before  they  come,  and  vamose  rejoic 
ing  with  his  bag  of  gold,  I  predict  trouble  in  this  wig 
wam.  I  declare  it  is  quite  scandalous  for  that  old 
woman  to  flirt  as  she  is  doing.  What  brought  him  here, 
anyhow?  Why  couldn't  she  do  like  other  declining 
beauties  who  perpetuate  their  loveliness,  and  go  to  a  city 


33  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

studio  and  have  her  picture  painted,  with  a  friend  to 
bear  her  company  and  lozenges  in  her  reticule  to  keep 
her  wide  awake,  unless  the  painter  himself  were  gossip 
enough  to  do  so,  or  be  contented  with  a  first-rate  daguer 
reotype  ?  " 

Then  again  the  story  was  told  to  him — to  which  he 
had  listened  so  carelessly  before  as  to  have  quite  forgo' - 
ten  it — as  to  "  how  an  old  maid  cousin,  who  had  lately 
succeeded  to  a  great  heritage  in  France,  and  become  the 
Countess  Cluche  (old  French  for  <  Cloche ') "—"  What  a 
hideous  name ! "  interpolated  Lionel.  "  *  Cluche,'  in 
deed  !  But  go  on,  Rose ;  I  am  in  a  hurry  " — "  deter 
mined  to  have  a  great  picture  gallery  of  her  own,  and 
gathering  together  all  the  old,  time-worn,  grim  and 
grizzly  faces  of  the  La  Cluche  family,  and  setting  them 
against  dark-panelled  walls  to  stare  at  one  another  across 
the  intervening  spaces  of  tesselated  marble,  she  was  now 
seeking  some  milder  element  of  beauty  among  the  people 
from  whom  she  sprung,  to  mingle  therewith  the  kindred 
of  her  beautiful  mother,  long  since  dead  and  laid  to  rest 
along  with  other  dumb  and  run-down  clocks. 

"  In  this  way  she  hoped  to  redeem  and  relieve  this 
dreary  array  of  ancestors  who  claimed  their  beginning 
from  the  artisan  wlio  made  for  and  presented  to  Charle 
magne  the  first  clock  ever  manufactured  in  France,  and 
so  received  his  title  and  estates." 

"And  the  countess  herself — is  she  an  ugly  old  girl 
like  the  Cluches,  or  a  pretty  old  girl  like  the  Ruffins  ? 
Aunt  is  good-looking,  you  know ;  particularly  when  she 
is  dressed  in  those  sheeny  silks  of  hers — good-looking 
and  no  mistake." 

"  Chene — Lionel — what  odd  names  you  give  things, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  39 

to  be  sure.  Now  don't  forget  the  word  Chene  from 
Chinese.  Well,  I  believe  she  is  or  has  been  beautiful, 
but  she  is  quite  old  now — over  thirty,  aunt  says  (the 
Countess  Cluche,  I  mean) — almost  as  old  as  aunt  her 
self." 

"Oh,  that  accounts  for  this  queer  notion  of  hers — 
hopeless  old  maid,  of  course,  and  no  taste  for  lap-dogs. 
Distressing  case.  But  really,  Rose,  what  you  say  about 
this  French  artist  sets  me  on  tenter  hooks.  Why  can't 
he  fancy  his  equals  and  take  to  Miss  Minande  ?  The 
presumptuous  puppy,  he  needs  and  will  get  a  good 
caning  when  Charley  and  Ruffin  come  back  to  Birk- 
braes,  and  I  will  put  them  up  to  it,  if  needs  be." 

"  Oh,  wait,  Lionel,  I  entreat  you,  before  you  breathe 
one  syllable  of  what,  after  all,  may  be  a  mere  suspicion  ! " 
said  Rose  Blamire,  heartily  alarmed  at  the  result  of  her 
own  observation  and  indiscretion.  "  If  I  see  anything 
worth  communicating  to  our  cousins  I  will  let  you  know 
at  once,  indeed  I  will ;  but  do  not,  unless  for  her  own 
good,  represent  me  as  a  spy  in  the  household  of  our 
aunt.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  I  am  convinced 
that  I  must  be  mistaken.  The  ways  of  American  women 
are  so  different  from  ours  at  home,  and  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh  will  be  at  Birk-braes  again  shortly,  and  we  can 
surely  leave  aunt's  affairs  in  his  discreet  hands,  as  poor 
uncle  did.  What  a  pity  he  is  lame  and  bald  and  pock 
marked  and  homely  and  old,  for  she  might  marry  him, 
then  all  would  be  satisfied.  He  is  only  a  cousin-at-law, 
you  know." 

"  You  are  very  good  at  match-making,  puss ;  but  I 
should  not  like  you  to  choose  a  mate  for  me  on  the  same 
principles.  Ugliness  may  be  satisfactory  and  a  sedative 


A 
40  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

for  fast  widows,  for  aught  I  know;  but  I  believe  in 
affinities  and  consistencies  myself,  and  so  it  seems  do  you 
and  Major  Stanley. 

"Good-by,  sis;  Rivers  is  a  pleasant,  gentlemanly 
fellow,  and  I  won't  quarrel  with  him  unless  it  becomes 
necessary.  In  the  meantime  cannot  you,  in  your  new 
capacity  of  match-maker,  try  to  build  up  a  good  under 
standing  between  the  artist  and  governess,  or — if  you 
have  not  too  much  on  hand  and  don't  mind  trouble — 
between  (confound  this  collar,  Rosie,  it  is  too  tight  for 
me  to-day) — between  your  humble  servant  and  Miss 
Carrie  Lindsay?  Now,  that's  the  best  joke  of  the 
season,  isn't  it,  sister  ?  "  and,  before  she  could  reply  or 
recover  from  her  amazement  at  his  sudden  folly,  Lionel 
had  departed,  singing,  or  rather  trolling,  as  he  went,  his 
favorite  "  piece  of  antique  song,"  which  rolled  out  right 
lovely  from  his  rich,  round  English  voice — sweet  and 
true  as  his  own  nature — yet  without  much  compass — like 
that  again — 

"  Gather  roses  while  ye  may. 

Old  time  will  still  be  flying ; 
And  the  same  flower  that  blooms  to-day 
To-morrow  will  be  dying." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  41 


CHAPTER    II. 

That  loveliness  ever  in  motion  that  plays 

Like  the  light  upon  autumn's  long  shadowy  days, 

Now  here — and  now  there. — MOORE. 

r  1 1HERE  was  certainly  never  a  greater  misnomer  than 
-L  that  of  "Birk-braes,"  which  Mr.  Thermor — in 
honor  of  an  ancestral  Scottish  home — bestowed  on  his 
Italian  villa  on  a  Southern  strand.  The  house  had  been 
built  for  the  reception  of  his  fair  young  bride — the  very 
much  younger  sister  of  the  woman  he  had  loved  fifteen 
years  before  his  marriage,  when,  as  secretary  of  legation, 
he  accompanied  her  father,  Mr.  Rufnn,  on  his  mission  to 
one  of  the  minor  courts  of  Europe. 

His  suit  had  been  indignantly  rejected  by  the  ambitious 
parents  of  his  beloved  Eugenie  in  favor  of  a  certain 
French  nobleman  of  distinguished  position,  and  also  on 
a  diplomatic  mission — nearly  double  his  own  years — who 
about  the  same  time  addressed  the  lady  of  his  heart,  and 
laid  before  her  his  fortune  and  not  very  euphonious  title. 

The  struggle  of  feeling  she  endured  at  that  period  was 
one  that  came  near  costing  poor  Eugenie  her  life,  as  it 
did  her  happiness,  for  she  espoused  the  man  her  father 
had  selected,  reluctantly,  and  even  loathingly,  and  in  less 
than  ten  years  was  at  rest  and  beyond  the  power  of  man 
to  trouble  more. 

The  heir  of  her  house  did  not  long  survive  her,  and 
two  little  girls — the  eldest  and  youngest  of  three  children 
— were  left  to  the  care  of  a  harsh,  ungenial  and  utterly 
selfish  father. 

The  deep  retirement  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  entire 


42  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

cessation  of  all  intercourse  between  himself  and  the  family 
of  his  wife,  involved  the  fate  of  these  children  in  a  sort 
of  mystery  that  was  now  for  the  first  time  unveiled  to 
Mrs.  Thermor. 

Truth  to  tell,  she  had  given  very  little  thought  to  her 
sister's  descendants  until  the  news  reached  her  that  Count 
Cluche  was  dead,  and  that  his  large  estates  and  title  had 
descended  to  one  of  his  daughters — the  survivor  now 
ascertained  satisfactorily  to  be  Eugenie  the  elder. 

The  name  of  her  sister  had  never  been  mentioned,  save 
very  casually,  between  her  husband  and  herself,  although 
the  circumstances  of  their  early  attachment  had  been 
known  to  her  from  childhood.  He  had  returned  rich  and 
middle-aged  from  California  to  find  the  daughter  of  his 
early  friend  on  the  brink  of  adversity — her  parents  were 
both  dead,  and  the  estate  of  Mr.  Ruffin,  his  lawyers 
frankly  told  his  daughter,  would  wind  up  a  little  less 
than  nothing.  She  concluded,  therefore,  before  the  ter 
rific  change  for  which  she  was  so  little  prepared,  either 
by  temperament  or  education,  should  occur,  to  accept  her 
first  good  offer,  made  partly  from  compassion,  and  at 
eighteen  married  a  man  of  forty-five  for  home  and  pro 
tection  from  the  storms  of  life.  Poor  Ravenshaw  had 
just  been  killed  in  Mexico,  or  she  might  have  preferred 
poverty  and  camp  life,  and  possible  preferment  to  actual 
wealth.  As  it  was,  she  became  sincerely  attached  to  Mr. 
Thermor  in  a  moderate  and  matronly  way,  and  led  a  very 
pleasant,  placid  life  at  Birk-braes — the  house  built  i:o 
please  her — enlivened,  as  was  the  abode,  by  the  frequent 
presence  of  friends,  and  its  monotony  varied  by  occasional 
visits,  on  her  part,  of  some  length  to,  Washington  and 
Baltimore. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  43 

She  was  called  by  unanimous  consent  "the  beautiful 
Mrs.  Thermor,"  a  title  always  gratifying  to  a  woman, 
even  if  undeserved ;  had  popular  manners,  because  really 
very  kind,  amiable  and  unaffected ;  was  attractive  to  gen 
tlemen  generally,  but  never  flirted  beyond  one  evening 
with  any  of  her  admirers,  which  was  legitimate  of  course; 
and,  indeed,  voted  most  of  them  "  bores  "  after  the  second 
interview.  Like  most  Southern  women  she  was  a  nota 
ble  housekeeper  and  managed  her  little  realm  and  house 
hold  of  well-trained  servants  so  admirably  that  the  wires 
that  pulled  the  puppets  (all  scrupulously  gathered  into 
her  own  small  hand)  Were  never  seen  or  suspected  by  her 
admiring  guests. 

So  that  it  need  not  be  marvelled  at  that  when  she  swept 
in  a  little  late  that  morning  to  the  breakfast  table  of  Birk- 
braes  beautifully  attired  in  pale  pink  percale,  relieved 
with  snow-white  embroidered  collar,  cuffs,  and  the  most 
becoming,  airy  little  lace  cap  in  the  world,  set  on  the  very 
summit  of  her  glittering  curls — it  was  to  survey  a  plen 
teous  and  well-spread  board,  with  every  dish  in  place  and 
each  one  cooked  to  perfection. 

This  was  the  morning  after  the  cheerful  collation  de 
scribed  in  the  last  chapter,  and  the  very  same  persons 
were  present  at  this  meal  that  had  enjoyed  the  supper, 
with  two  additions,  in  the  shape  of  Mademoiselle  Minande 
and  Col.  Kavanaugh,  the  last  named  of  whom  had  ar 
rived  on  the  midnight  packet-boat. 

He  had  been,  according  to  his  matutinal  fashion,  an 
hour  or  two  on  the  gallery  before  breakfast  time — was 
very  glad  to  see  the  Blamires,  who  were  his  relatives,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  deceased  Herbert  Thermor,  and  with 
whom  he  had  made  a  slight  acquaintance  at  their  hotel 


44  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

in  New  York  on  their  first  arrival,  a  month  before — 
bestowed  kindly  recognition  on  Mademoiselle  Minande, 
who  had  been  domesticated  a  month  before  his  departure — 
but  stared  a  little  vaguely  at  our  youthful  artist,  of  whose 
advent  he  had  not  heard,  and  to  whom  he  was  introduced 
merely  as  Mr.  Eivers,  a  guest  who  brought  letters  of  rec 
ommendation  from  the  Countess  Cluche.  Of  course  he 
shook  hands  with  the  stranger,  American-wise — and  was 
very  civil  indeed — but  this  did  not  prevent  his  question 
ing  both  himself  and  others  as  to  how  the  dickens  he 
happened  to  be  there  ? — dressed,  too,  in  that  queer  gray 
blouse,  like  a  French  Creole — and  upon  hearing  the 
reason  of  his  presence  from  Lionel  Blamire  (who  never 
hinted,  however,  for  a  moment  by  nod  or  look  at  his 
sister's  suspicions),  I  am  sorry  to  confess  he  burst  into  a 
hearty  fit  of  swearing.  "  Just  like  their  French  impu 
dence,"  he  added ;  "  what  right,  I'd  like  to  know,  has 
that  provincial  old  French  maid  to  expect  to  palm  off 
her  dependents  even  for  one  day  on  a  high-born  Virginia 
lady?  Moreover,  what  does  she  mean  by  exacting  such 
tribute  from  a  distant  relation,  of  whom  she  has  lost  sight 
for  years?  A  face  like  that,  let  me  tell  you,  sir,  has  no 
business  to  be  hackneyed.  Ten  to  one — but  we  shall  yet 
see  the  honorable  Mrs.  Thermor  (Herbert  was  in  Con 
gress)  bandied  about  as  a  '  Bandit's  bride  ' — or  some  such 
stuff  by  means  of  the  daguerreotype  and  cheap  wood-cuts ! 
It  is  an  infringement  on  the  code,  sir ;"  and  he  took  snuff 
and  frowned  grimly  into  space. 

To  all  this  Lionel  listened  very  complacently,  though 
it  must  be  confessed  the  conversation  took  place  some 
time  after  the  breakfast  of  which  there  is  question  now. 
At  this  meal  Mr.  Rivers  chanced  to  be  placed  opposite 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  45 

Mademoiselle  Minande,  and,  as  the  claret  and  champagne 
of  the  preceding  evening  had  left  him  without  much  appe 
tite,  he  employed  himself  between  his  sips  of  coffee  in 
scrutinizing  his  little  neighbor  in  a  professional  way. 
She  sat  with  the  most  perfect  seeming  unconsciousness 
discussing  a  reed-bird,  which  he  thought  very  appropri 
ate  food  for  one  so  delicate-looking,  though  his  artistic  eye 
recognized  the  strength  and  pliability  of  a  steel  spring 
about  the  slight,  well-knit  and  finely  rounded  figure  of 
the  slender  young  girl. 

As  she  raised  to  her  lips  a  pigmy  pinion  of  the  bird 
she  was  evidently  enjoying  in  a  quiet  way  (our  trans- 
Atlantic  ortolan),  one  small,  white  fourth  finger  was  ex 
tended  in  a  dainty  fashion,  on  which  glowed  a  crimson 
stone,  confined  by  a  slight  ring  of  gold,  rather  than  set 
therein.  It  was  so  flame-like,  so  brilliant,  that  it  might 
have  passed  as  a  ruby  on  the  hand  of  a  woman  of  wealth ; 
as  it  was,  it  was  garnet  or  carbuncle,  of  course,  and,  on 
close  inspection,  it  seemed  to  be  graven  glass. 

What  an  affectation — what  a  presumption  even — he 
thought  for  a  woman  of  that  class  to  hazard  such  a  pre 
tension  as  a  family  crest!  But  perhaps  it  is  only  the 
initials  of  the  poor  little  thing  which  she  carries  thus  for 
convenience,  in  order  to  seal  letters.  M.  M. — one  letter 
will  do  for  both  names,  which  is  a  saving  of  expense.  A 
conscientious,  How  glad  I  am  that  mine — my  uncle's 
rather — is  around  my  neck,  not  on  my  finger. 

Just  then  the  cool,  blue  eyes  of  Mademoiselle  Minande 
were  lifted  to  his  face,  and  a  smile,  that  singularly  sweet 
and  pungent  smile,  of  which  he  had  caught  just  one 
glimpse  on  the  preceding  evening — broke  over  her  face. 
In  another  moment  she  shook  suddenly  with  a  faint,  low 


46  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

gust  of  laughter,  as  a  breeze  might  shake  a  flower — still 
to  death  a  moment  after,  as  a  pool  beneath  a  shower — 
dimples — then  is  smooth  again,  as  a  lily  sways  and  trem 
bles  under  heavy  drops  of  rain,  then  resumes  its  pose — 
sculptured  sovereign  of  the  bower !  Then  all  was  se 
riousness. 

"  I  wonder  if  she  was  laughing  at  me,  or  at  her  own 
thoughts,"  pondered  Mazeron.  "  Little  derisive  grisette ! 
I  wish  I  knew — but  who  need  care  for  her  or  such  as 
she?" 

And  he  fell  to  crushing  the  fine  white  roll  he  could  not 
eat  and  rolling  into  pellets  beneath  his  crossed  fingers,  so 
as  to  enjoy  the  reality  of  a  delusion. 

And  yet,  even  while  so  occupied  with  the  strange  dual 
sensation  of  the  single  ball,  his  artistic  eye  was  taking  in 
the  details  of  her  lineaments,  as  it  could  not  help  doing 
from  long  habit,  truthfully,  dispassionately,  yet,  truth  to 
tell,  languidly  and  with  little  interest.  However  well 
that  aspect  bore  inspection,  and  whatever  the  surprise  it 
may  have  awakened  artistically,  he  could  not  deny  that 
it  was  almost  identically  the  face  of  Sappho,  as  graven  on 
that  ancient  and  remarkable  cameo,  which  alone  of  all 
her  pictures  leaves  any  true  or  decided  individuality. 
The  same,  the  low,  straight,  serene  brow;  the  exquisite 
nose  in  shape,  yet  not  on  a  right  line  with  the  forehead, 
as  in  most  Greek  faces ;  the  same  the  planting  of  the  hair 
(raven  black  as  was  that  of  Mademoiselle  Minande,  and 
worn  simply  parted  in  front  and  twisted  all  together  in 
one  classic  knot  behind  the  small  pearly  ears) ;  the  same 
the  pointed  upper  lip,  a  thought  too  long,  of  the  other 
wise  perfect  mouth;  the  same  the  short  upturned  chin, 
cleft,  like  a  pomegranate,  in  the  centre,  yet  exquisitely 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  47 

curved ;  the  same  the  slender,  round,  flexile  and  graceful 
throat. 

"  She  is  a  little  snob,"  he  said,  deep  down  in  his  heart 
of  hearts,  "  and  would  be  impertinent  if  she  had  half  a 
chance.  She  is  very  pretty,  though,  and  has  wonderful 
eyes,  too  wonderful,  and  perhaps  I  may  make  a  sketch  of 
her  before  we  part.  I  wonder  what  she  wants  with  that 
little  tortoise-shell  eye-glass;  she  can't  be  near-sighted? 

"Mademoiselle  a  la  vue  basse  il  paroit?"  he  hazarded 
with  a  sympathizing  bend  of  head  as  she  adjusted  her 
glass  to  look  out  of  the  window. 

"Oui,  Monsieur,  quand  surtout  je  regarde  d'en  haut," 
and  as  she  spoke  she  rose,  as  others  were  doing,  then 
stood  for  a  moment  deliberately  holding  her  glass  to  her 
eyes  and  looking  directly  down  upon  him  with  a  mien 
of  pride  and  glance  of  penetrating  power  that  diverted 
and  amazed  him. 

"  C'est  cela ! "  she  murmured  softly,  dropping  her  eye 
glass,  and  in  another  moment  wending  her  way  swiftly 
across  the  garden  to  the  pavilion  which  served  both  as 
school-room  and  temporary  atelier  during  his  stay  at 
"Birk-braes." 

It  had  been  indeed  for  some  days  a  matter  of  discus 
sion  and  uncertainty  as  to  where,  most  advantageously  to 
himself  and  conveniently  to  his  hostess,  Mr.  Rivers  could 
unroll  his  canvas ;  when  Mademoiselle  had  suggested  the 
school-room  on  account  of  its  high  narrow  windows  and 
their  peculiar  form — its  remoteness  as  well  from  all 
sounds  of  distraction — as  the  fittest  situation  for  the  pic 
ture  and  painter  both.  Here  then  did  Mr.  Rivers  pitch 
his  tent,  begging  permission  (a  remnant  of  his  Bohemian- 
ism,  perhaps)  to  have  his  bed  placed  in  a  small  room 


48  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

adjoining — once  used  as  a  room  for  separate  recitations 
when  the  children  of  Birk-braes  had  all  been  taught  at 
home  with  others  from  the  neighborhood  by  one  despotic 
master  who  separated  the  boys  and  girls — assigning  as 
his  reason  that  in  this  way  he  could  work  on  his  picture 
at  odd  seasons. 

His  hours  and  those  of  Mademoiselle  never  clashed — 
as  the  sitting  took  place  at  noon — after  which  hour  she 
returned  no  more,  and  Mr-.  Rivers  worked  alone  until 
breakfast  time,  then  rested  until  twelve  o'clock.  Yet  as 
Eugenie  made  one  figure  in  the  group,  by  the  especial 
request  of  her  titled  cousin,  it  was  the  habit  of  Mademoi 
selle  to  accompany  her  pupil  to  and  from  the  sittings ;  at 
first  by  the  request  of  Mrs.  Thermor,  and  later,  as  it 
seemed,  through  sheer  force  of  habit,  and  inability  to  com 
prehend  that  she  had  become  "  de  trop."  Sometimes  Mr. 
Rivers  thought  that  she  did  see  this  and  came  with 
malicious  intent,  for  he  had  confidence  in  her  clairvoy 
ance,  but  this  opinion  Mrs.  Thermor  never  shared  or  sus 
pected  him  of  entertaining. 

He  had  his  doubts,  too,  about  the  eye-glass,  which 
she  made  such  an  absurd  speech  and  display  over  as  a 
necessity. 

"  There !  I  knew  it.  The  little  witch  is  clairvoyant ; 
she  always  looks  up  when  I  am  thinking  about  her,"  he 
muttered,  as  he  met  the  wide  blue  eyes  of  the  governess 
fixed  upon  him  with  something  like  surprise. 

The  group  had  just  been  arranged  on  that  occasion; 
yet,  before  he  took  up  his  crayons,  some  spirit  beyond 
himself  prompted  him  to  ask  the  opinion  of  Mademoiselle 
Minande  as  to  its  effect.  It  was  not  without  asperity 
that  he  said  (for  he  did  not  like  her  expression  as  she 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  49 

calmly  surveyed  the  subjects  of  his  sketch),  "Be  good 
euoiurh  to  tell  me  frankly,  Mademoiselle,  whether  or 

O  /  * 

not  this  adjustment  of  models  pleases  your  critical  and 
artistic  eye  ?  " 

"  Frankly,  Monsieur,  it  does  not." 

"Will  Mademoiselle  deign,  either  by  suggestion  or 
actual  arrangement,  to  improve  it  ?  "  he  asked,  not  with 
out  much  vexation  in  his  tone  and  eyes. 

"I  will  endeavor  to  do  so,  Monsieur,  if  such  is  your 
wish,  wis  ze  consent  of  Madame,"  she  added,  passing 
into  English  with  slight  hesitation. 

"  Oh !  it  is  our  wish  to  look  as  beautiful  as  possible 
in  the  eyes  of  posterity — for  the  benefit  of  which,  I 
believe,  we  are  being  painted — so  assist  Mr.  Rivers,  if 
you  think  you  can,  Mademoiselle  Minande,  though  of 
this  I  have  my  doubts,"  laughing  and  shaking  her 
glossy  curls. 

"A  little  more  to  the  right,  Madame,"  said  Mademoi 
selle,  again  subsiding  into  French,  "  there,  look  out  of 
the  window,  if  you  please,  at  the  guelder  rose-bush 
growing  near — so  ! — the  profile  now  is  more  than  half- 
revealed,  always,  if  fine,  desirable  after  early  youth  in 
every  portrait  rather  than  the  full  face — is  not  that  the 
portrait  painter's  rule,  Monsieur?"  Then,  without  wait 
ing  for  his  reply,  she  proceeded  placidly,  "Drop  the 
hand  with  entire  abandon  over  the  arm  of  the  chair,  the 
droop  of  the  wrist  is,  when  fine,  so  beautiful — let  the 
cashmere  fall  as  it  will,  it  matters  not,  draperies  adjust 
themselves  best;  the  color  is  ugly,  but  Monsieur  can 
enliven  it  a  little  with  his  brush.  Those  India-reds  are 
so  brickdusty,  compared  to  ours.  I  like  our  fine  French 
cashmere  infinitely  better,  but  for  the  tradition  tliat 
3 


50  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

hangs  about  those  oriental  fabrics,  the  fine  odor  of  balmy 
sandalwood — second-hand  things  at  best,  however." 

"  Quite  a  little  lecture,  Mademoiselle  Minande,  for 
which  imagine  all  sorts  of  applause.  I,  you  see,  have 
my  hands  full  of  all  sorts  of  crayons  and  cannot  do  you 
justice,  and  Madame  has  her  fan — " 

"  You  will  paint  that  also,  Monsieur,  I  hope,"  added 
Mademoiselle  Minande,  eagerly,  and  as  though  she  had 
observed  no  satire  in  the  remarks  of  the  artist.  "It  is 
such  a  pretty  thing,  so  distinctive — so  American — a  fan 
of  partridge  feathers,  capped  with  the  wing  of  a  cardi 
nal  bird!  I  am  sure  the  Countess  Cluche  would  like  just 
such  a  characterization  among  her  own  people." 

"  Yes,  it  shall  go  in  certainly,  if  you  think  so,"  said 
Mrs.  Thermor,  good-naturedly;  "but  I  confess  I  only 
bought  it  to  fan  with.  It  is  so  warm  to-day,  the  shawl 
is  quite  oppressive." 

"As  for  Eugenie,  you  cannot  go  wrong  with  her,  Mr. 
Rivers,  strive  as  you  may,"  said  Mademoiselle  Minande, 
in  continuation;  "you  could  not  make  her  pose  affected 
if  you  were  to  try.  She  is  at  the  age  where  nature  will 
have  her  way,  and  her  attitudes  are  all  her  own,  which 
is  much  to  know.  There,  just  as  she  sits,  with  her  hands 
clasped,  looking  up  at  me,  she  is  perfection." 

"Oh,  Mademoiselle,  it  is  because  I  love  so  much  to 
hear  you  talk.  Your  French  is  so  different  from  that  of 
every  one  else,  that  I  understand  nearly  half  you  say." 

"  Ah !  Eugenie,  did  you  but  comprehend  all,  you  would 
may  be  not  so  well  it  like,"  said  Mademoiselle  in  her 
very  unidiomatic  English,  in  the  knowledge  of  which, 
however,  she  seemed  to  improve  each  day.  "But  I 
truly  fear  Monsieur  likes  not  my  change  of  pose,"  she 
continued,  turning  to  the  artist. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  51 

"Just  as  Mrs.  Thermor  chooses,"  he  rejoined  in  French, 
"  for  all  suggestions  I  am  truly  grateful ; "  and  with  a 
bitter  bow  he  turned  from  Mademoiselle  Minande,  who 
again  quietly  subsided  into  her  embrasure,  and  was  once 
more  absorbed  in  her  work,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else, 
as  it  seemed,  to  every  one  but  Mr.  Rivers,  conscious  in 
some  inexplicable  way  of  her  constant  observation. 

After  some  consultation  and  hesitation  on  the  part  of 
both  artist  and  sitter,  the  superior  grouping  of  Madem 
oiselle  Minande  was  carelessly  adopted  and  the  sketch  of 
the  picture  was  made. 

Since  then  the  work  had  progressed  slowly — owing  to 
frequent  interruptions — such  as  are  unavoidable  in  the 
case  of  a  "  Dame  of  Societe,"  as  Mr.  Rivers  in  his  rever 
ence  for  that  peculiar  position  in  woman  entitled  Mrs. 
Thermor.  She  was  the  centre  of  a  pretty  thickly  settled 
and  very  pleasant  country  neighborhood  in  which  she 
played  to  perfection  the  part,  of  social  martyr;  enjoying, 
it  must  be  confessed,  the  means  of  her  martyrdom — inas 
much  as  that  she  was  never  satisfied  without  daily  calls 
and  resident  guests. 

This  was  the  first  near  approach  Mazeron  Rivers  had 
ever  made  to  a  lady  of  high  degree  since,  in  his  velvety 
youth,  his  uncle  used  to  take  him  occasionally  to  the 
soirees  of  Madame  la  Marquise  de  Soissons,  where  he 
saw  only  fussy  old  fat  women,  or  dried-up  old  yellow 
ones,  curled  and  rouged,  who  played  at  ecarte  and  drank 
weak  chocolate  and  lemonade  as  a  finale.  He  had  cher 
ished  no  very  pleasing  reminiscences  of  these  intermina 
ble  evenings — "au  troisicme" — and  the  contrast  between 
such  women  and  such  life  as  the  peerless  hostess  of  Birk- 
braes  and  her  incomparable  menage  and  Italian  palazzo, 


52  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

rather  than  mansion,  presented,  was  forced  upon  him 
every  day  and  hour.  There  was,  too,  in  the  very  nativity 
of  Mrs.  Thermor,  as  well  as  her  habit  of  life,  a  noble 
instinct  of  hospitality  which  knew  not  how  to  differ  be 
tween  guest  and  guest — unless  indeed  it  were  in  favor  of 
the  humble  and  neglected.  Had  Mr.  Rivers  been  a 
prince  of  the  blood  instead  of  a  young  and  struggling 
artist,  glad  of  a  few  orders,  so  that  he  might  again  breathe 
the  air  of  his  native  land  and  perhaps  get  a  foothold 
therein,  like  a  new  McGregor,  perfectly  modest  and  un 
ostentatious  although  refined,  he  could  not  have  been 
treated  with  greater  consideration  than  from  the  very 
first  marked  his  abode  with  Mrs.  Thermor. 

Unused  to  attention  so  disinterested  and  appropriating 
as  individual  many  gracious  sayings  and  glances,  such  as  is 
the  habit  of  good  society  to  lavish  on  all  visitors,  the  flat 
tered  vanity  of  the  young  man  was  doubtless  at  the  root 
of  the  indiscreet  passion,  which  after  a  short  sojourn 
under  the  roof  of  Mrs.  Thermor  (with  whom  he  was  ne 
cessarily  thrown  in  a  daily  attitude  of  fictitious  intimacy 
by  the  unconstrained  manners  of  the  atelier)  took  entire 
possession  of  his  being. 

Not,  however,  until  its  morbid  fangs  were  fixed  upon 
his  vitals  did  he  appreciate  its  entire  hopelessness,  and 
even  madness — too  late,  alas !  for  the  cool  intervention  of 
reason  or  the  proper  suggestions  of  pride,  which  stern 
admonitor  so  often  plucks  back  the  slave  of  vanity  from 
the  very  brink  of  the  moral  or  social  precipice. 

Many  strange  threads  are  woven  in  the  woof  of  a  pas 
sion  like  to  this,  which  has  no  basis  in  congeniality  of 
taste,  pursuit,  age,  or  even  position,  and  strange  as  well 
are  its  devices  of  self-delusion. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  53 

The  very  beauty  and  perfection  of  Mrs.  Thermor's 
toilette  had  unconsciously  much  to  do  with  the  profound 
admiration  of  this  poor  young  Bohemian,  whose  life  had 
been  passed  in  the  forest  of  the  town,  so  to  speak,  in  entire 
seclusion  from  the  "beau  monde"  and  every  aspect  of 
society  save  one  for  which  he  had  neither  fitness  nor 
vocation. 

Mrs.  Thermor  had  a  peculiar  fondness  for  silken  array, 
and  of  superb  dresses  of  this  fabric  she  had  enough  to 
have  stocked  the  wardrobe  of  a  mandarin.  It  was  the 
time  of  changeable  silks — an  era  almost  in  the  romance 
of  dress — and  these  she  affected  in  every  variety  of  con 
trast  and  harmony.  There  was  one  splendid  sheen  of 
green  and  gold  in  which  she  appeared  sometimes  when 
the  evenings  were  suddenly  cool  and  the  softer  blending 
of  pearl  and  rose  seemed  too  pale  for  the  still  uncertain 
spring  weather — and  one  of  which  he  had  a  mere  glimpse 
of  bronze  and  crimson — in  which  she  had  at  first  pro 
posed  to  be  painted,  with  her  small  knowledge  of  true 
artistic  effect,  arrayed  in  which  she  had  reminded  him 
incessantly  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  calling  on  Solomon — 
not  that  he  thought  himself  that  wiseacre. 

Soft,  sweet  and  bright  gems  added  to  the  effect  of  these 
transcendent  and  almost  transcendental  robes,  and  a  soft 
odor  of  violets  was  always  wafted  by  her  approach,  which 
seemed  to  belong  to  her  by  right  as  to  the  spring  itself, 
and  not  to  be  confined  to  the  gossamer  of  her  fairy  hand 
kerchiefs — in  the  shape  of  Lubin's  extract  of  violettes 
de  Parma. 

Such  a  divine  creature  after  "  Minnette"  and  "  Alzires" 
and  even  after  that  little  queer,  faultless,  mysterious  being 
of  the  green  domino  with  whom  he  had  once  imagined 


54  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

himself  "eperdument  amonicux"  in  the  days  of  his  hot 
youth  and  the  Louvre.  It  was  like  being  on  social  terms 
with  a  Goddess,  it  was  divine,  it  was  Ixion  and  Juno 
redivivus  intoxicating.  It  was  Malmsey  wine,  hasheesh 
and  absinthe  all  at  once — not  that  he  was  a  consumer  of 
any  one  of  these  articles — but  that  he  ranked  naturally 
according  to  Bohemian  estimates. 

Nothing  impure,  nothing  sordid  or  sensual  mingled  in 
this  dream  of  ecstasy.  It  was  "sui  generis"  and  peculiar 
to  such  organizations  as  his  own,  modest,  gentle,  true, 
reverential,  yet  ever  willing  and  ready  to  put  forth  wings 
for  the  breeze  of  vanity — and  insatiable  for  adventure — 
of  such  was  Doedalus ! 

He  was  content  so  far  to  bask  in  the  atmosphere  of  her 
beauty,  the  Indian  summer  softness  and  splendor  of  which 
was  more  entrancing  to  his  sense  and  soul  than  had  ever 
been  the  more  bracing  air  of  youth,  to  revel  in  the  sun 
shine  of  her  smiles  and  the  sweet,  low-spoken  music  of 
her  winning  words. 

We  have  seen  that  to  this  adoration  Mrs.  Thermor  was 
beginning  to  wake  up,  not  without  a  fluttered  sense  of 
what  she  owed  herself. 

Admiration  was  another  thing  quite  separate  and  apart 
from  the  devotion  she  began  to  fathom  in  the  heart  of 
the  susceptible  young  man.  She  conceived  it  to  be  her 
legitimate  right,  come  from  where  it  might,  but  she  had 
not  the  least  wish  to  be  entangled  in  an"  affaire  du  crcur" 
with  this  young  nameless  one,  graceful,  chivalric  and 
attractive  though  she  found  him. 

And  as  for  him,  the  time  was  probably  soon  to  come 
when  he  was  to  recognize  in  all  its  hideous  truth  the 
absurdity  of  his  passion ;  the  impossibility  of  its  fulfil- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  55 

ment ;  the  hopelessness  of  his  condition ;  when  he  was  to 
feel  that  a  Tartar  horse  might  as  well  attempt  to  leap  the 
Chinese  wall  as  for  him  to  pass  over  those  barriers  which 
custom  and  convention  had  set  between  him  and  the 
object  of  his  adoration. 

To  do  Mrs.  Thermor  justice,  from  the  time  of  her  dis 
covery  she  was  very  careful  not  to  flatter  the  "amour 
propre"  of  her  artist  guest  as  she  had  been  doing  on  com 
mon  principles  before,  for  her  nice  intuition  soon  divined 
the  fatal  fallacy  of  treating  him  as  though  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  such  mere  airy  nothings  as  were  habitual 
between  men  and  women  of  the  world — the  battle-dore 
and  shuttle-cock  of  compliment — "words  signifying 
nothing,"  without  which  general  society  would  seem  so 
stagnant. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this  fresh,  true,  unmis 
takable  and  knightly  devotion  touched  her  deeply ;  all 
the  more  that  this  was  her  first  experience  of  real  heart 
felt  love  and  love-making  since  she  was  a  girl,  when,  in 
a  very  different  yet  equally  ardent  manner,  Ernest  Raven- 
shaw  had  testified  his  passion. 

That  other  oifers  she  had  received  had  been  purely  con 
ventional,  and  of  these,  without  a  heart-throb,  she  had 
accepted  the  best — after  hearing  that  poor  Ravenshaw  was 
killed  at  Buena  Vista,  where  so  many  other  brave  spirits 
were  set  free  by  the  atrocious  Mexican  Lancers — (Clay 
and  Vaughan,  Morgan  and  McKee — can  we  ever  forget 
you?  the  heroes  of  one  little  town!) 

It  was  true  that  some  years  later,  when  she  was  a  happy 
wife  and  mother,  she  had  met  him  face  to  face  on  Broad 
way,  New  York,  supporting  a  lovely  lady  on  his  arm, 
who  seemed  to  be  his  wife,  and,  turning  into  a  store  from 


56  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

the  shock,  fainted  dead  away.  Afterwards  she  heard  that, 
in  spite  of  dreadful  wounds,  he  had  made  his  way  to  Balti 
more  to  prevent  her  marriage,  and  on  arriving  a  day  or 
two  late  had  forsworn  Maryland  forever  and  gone  off  to 
the  frontier  on  some  desperate  duty  among  the  Indians, 
where  he  remained  for  years.  Since  then  his  name  had 
never  been  mentioned  by  her  or  before  her,  for  was  he 
not  more  than  dead  to  her,  faithless  fellow  that  he  was, 
married  to  another  and  apparently  so  happy,  and  just  as 
handsome,  too,  as  ever ! 

With  her  repudiation  of  him  and  his  memory  had 
died  the  one  romance  of  her  life,  unless,  indeed,  this 
strange  "penchant"  of  hers  for  Mazcron  Rivers  (it  really 
was  no  more!)  and  his  profound  passion  for  her  might  be 
supposed  to  do  duty  as  a  second  edition  of  the  original 
novelette.  Sentiment  was  not  her  moral  atmosphere — 
that  is  certain — but  she  was  kind,  tender-hearted  and 
generous,  and  not  sufficiently  inclined  to  inflict  pain  even 
to  be  a  coquette,  flirt  though  she  might,  "just  to  keep  her 
hand  in,"  and  "pour  passe  le  temps,"  as  she  once  de 
clared  to  an  accusing  friend  who  reproached  her  with 
frivolity. 

All  the  more  that  she  was  moved  by  the  truth,  sin 
cerity,  and  involuntary  nature  of  the  devotion  of  Mazeron 
Rivers,  did  she  determine  to  save  him  from  the  mortifi 
cation  and  misery  that  its  culmination  must  produce.  So 
she  set  about  checking  his  passion  in  the  bud,  conscien 
tiously,  as  she  persuaded  herself,  by  treating  him  with  a 
careless,  off-hand  kindness,  that  any  man,  with  the  least 
usage  du  monde,  would  have  skilfully  interpreted. 

Not  so  poor  Mazeron.  Like  the  moth,  excluded  from 
the  candle  by  its  crystal  shade,  he  plunged  boldly  over 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  67 

and  into  its  depths,  only  to  crawl  forth  scorched,  mangled, 
and  disabled. 

Those  daily  sittings,  whether  short  or  long,  added  fuel 
to  his  flame,  and  the  almost  constant  presence  of  the 
child  and  governess  alone  prevented  an  insane  declara 
tion  of  his  passion  which  must  have  cut  him  off  at  once 
and  forever. 

Sometimes,  however,  when  duties  or  pleasures  called 
her  elsewhere,  Eugenie  and  Mademoiselle  Minande  came 
alone  to  the  atelier,  and  Mrs.  Thcrmor  contented  herself 
with  sending  a  little  perfumed  billet  of  excuse,  very 
brief  and  very  simply  worded,  which,  careless  as  it  was, 
would  be  placed  near  the  heart  of  its  recipient,  and 
bedewed  with  tears  and  kisses  when  none  were  present. 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  when  it  was  essential  to 
paint  some  detail  of  Eugenie's  face  or  form  which  de 
tained  her  longer  than  usual,  the  little  governess  unbent 
from  her  usually  reserved  and  warder-like  mood  to 
become  quite  chatty  and  communicative.  She  had  an 
epigrammatic  way  of  talking  that  was  rather  amusing  to 
Mr.  Rivers,  and  when  the  sun  had  withdrawn  its  rays 
he  sometimes  deigned  to  look  upon  and  even  admire  the 
moon ;  or,  to  make  a  better  simile,  he  would  lend  ear  to 
the  twittering  of  the  sparrow  when  the  lark  was  mute  or 
singing  too  high  for  him — far  in  the  clouds — whither  he 
could  not,  dared  not,  go  now. 

"Have  you  ever  seen  our  patroness,  the  Countess 
Cluche  ? "  she  asked  of  Mazeron  Rivers,  in  that  clear, 
incisive  voice  of  hers,  and  in  the  purest  French  that  it 
was  possible  for  woman's  lips  to  speak. 

The  words  "our  patroness"  went  through  him  like  a 
knife.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  chief  reason  for  his  aversion 


58  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

to  Mademoiselle  Minande,  that  this  "  esprit  cle  corps " 
was  supposed  to  exist  between  them.  He  felt  himself  so 
immeasurably  her  superior  that  the  idea  of  equality 
galled  him,  for  he  remembered  his  gentle  birth  and 
breeding,  and  felt  that  it  lifted  him  above  the  class  to 
which  he  belonged  through  poverty  and  profession ;  yet 
he  replied  quite  calmly  and  politely  in  the  absence  of 
Mrs.  Thermor. 

"  Never.  I  confess  I  have  wished  for  such  a  pleasure 
in  vain.  She  treated  with  me  by  proxy.  From  the 
miniature  Mrs.  Thermor  has  shown  me,  she  must  be  a 
nobly  beautiful  as  well  as  a  noble  lady." 

"  She  is  neither.  She  is  far  from  beautiful.  I  have 
known  her  to  be  guilty  of  some  very  mean  things,"  was 
the  rejoinder. 

"  Mademoiselle,  you  surprise  me  !  I  for  one  am  the 
recipient  of  her  bounty,  and  I  feel  that  I  am  almost 
called  upon  to  resent  such  an  aspersion — you,  too,  I  be 
lieve."  He  hesitated :  he  could  not  bear  to  accuse  her, 
even  his  antagonist,  of  ingratitude. 

"  Have  cause  to  defend  Tier.  Is  that  what  you  would 
say?  Well,  then — for  I  take  your  silence  to  mean 
assent — I  can  only  reply  that,  while  she  has  seemed  my 
friend,  she  has  been  my  enemy.  This  exile  here,  for 
instance,  what  does  it  amount  to?  It  is  simply  heart 
breaking."  And  she  sobbed. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  conversation  was  con 
ducted  in  French,  and  that  Eugenie,  perfectly  absorbed 
in  the  pages  of  a  <(  Godey's  Lady's  Book,"  could  scarcely 
have  understood  had  she  attended  to  it,  novitiate  in 
French  as  she  still  was,  though  strong  in  the  exercises. 

He  looked  at  her  with  surprise.     Her  voice,  her  face, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  59 

were  quivering  with  emotion ;  but  he  only  said  in  re 
sponse,  and  very  coolly,  too — 

"  Why  not  return,  then,  Mademoiselle  ?  No  one  has 
a  right  to  compel  you  to  remain  against  your  will.  Yet, 
forgive  me ;  I  thought  you  very  well  situated  indeed — 
very  happy.  Mrs.  Thermor  is  so  amiable — so  perfectly 
well-bred." 

"  I  really  have  no  cause  to  complain  of  any  one  except 
myself  and  the  Countess  Cluche ;  but  she  has  been  in 
some  respects  a  hard  mistress  to  me,  and  at  times  I 
detest  her.  Then  comes  a  reaction,"  and  she  wiped  her 
eyes.  "But  you  will  probably  never  know  any  more 
than  that  such  is  the  state  of  things.  It  was  a  great 
weakness  in  me  to  complain  at  all.  But  you,  Monsieur, 
who  seem  so  sympathizing  and  are  my  compatriot,  must 
excuse  me  if  you  can,"  and  she  dashed  a  final  tear  from 
her  large  humid  eye. 

"Mademoiselle,"  and  he  laid  down  his  brush,  "I 
really  feel  very  sorry,  very  sorry  indeed,  that  you  are 
unhappy  and  so  painfully  situated,  and  if  I  can  do 
anything  at  all  to  serve  you  I  beg  that  you  will  com 
mand  me  freely.  Perhaps,  would  Mademoiselle  like  to 
borrow  a  small  sum  of  money  for  her  return  or  other 
purposes?" 

"  On ,  thank  you,  Monsieur !  you  are  truly  kind  and 
generous,  but  it  is  not  that  I  need  aid  at  all.  It  will  not 
be  very  long  before  my  salary  is  due  for  the  first  quarter, 
after  which  I  am  at  liberty  to  depart  if  I  list  to  do  so. 
No  1  it  is  simply  the  feeling  of  desolation — exile — and 
some  disappointment,  perhaps,  which,  however,  I  can 
never  explain  to  any  one,  that  oppresses  me  so  deeply. 
Now  that  I  have  spoken,  however,  I  think  I  shall  take 


60  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OR, 

fresh  heart  of  grace  to  hope  and  bear.  It  always  was 
my  way ; "  and  she  smiled. 

"I  trust  so,  Mademoiselle;  and  if  it  relieves  you  to 
speak  to  me  as  to  a  friend,  or  even  national  brother,  do  so 
freely.  We  are  both,  as  you  say,  in  a  strange  land,  and 
in  a  degree  compatriots — though  I  am  by  birth  and  early 
training,  as  perhaps  you  did  not  know,  an  American." 

"  Yes ;  so  I  have  been  told.  It  is  easy,  indeed,  to  see 
that  you  are  not  a  Frenchman." 

"Mademoiselle  means  that  remark  no  doubt  as  a 
quietus  to  my  vanity." 

"  Not  at  all.  I,  for  one,  do  not  particularly  admire 
Frenchmen.  There,  if  you  will  know  the  truth !  I 
have  suffered  too  deeply  at  their  hands." 

"  Vraiment,  Mademoiselle,"  assuming  a  deeply  sym 
pathetic  air,  "  quelque  affaire  du  coeur  je  paries  ?  " 

"Et  si  c'etait  cela,  Monsieur,  pensez  vous  que  j'en 
parlerais  ?  C'est  que  vous  ne  comprennez  pas — ne  me 
comprendre  jamais ! "  And  with  a  slightly  tragic  air 
she  rose  and  crossed  the  room  to  get  her  veil  and  gloves. 

"  Femme  incomprese,"  she  heard  him  murmur. 
"  Vraiment  c'est  impayable ; "  and  he  laughed  low. 

"  Monsieur,  forgive  me,"  she  said,  suddenly  turning  to 
him  before  she  left  the  pantheon ;  "  we  all  have  our 
weaknesses" — "foiblesses"  was  the  word  she  used — 
which  sounds  better  and  expresses  more.  "  One  of  mine 
is  to  get  very  quickly  and  unreasonably  vexed  sometimes 
— where  no  offence  is  meant.  It  is  that  want  of  inten 
tion  that  offends  me  most  frequently.  Do  you  under 
stand  what  I  mean,  Monsieur  ?  " 

"  No.  I  confess  I  do  not;  you  are  paradoxical,  but  have 
you  not  just  said  yourself  that  I  never  can  understand 
you?" 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  61 

"Not  without  God's  help,  Monsieur,"  she  said,  so 
gravely  that  her  look,  her  accent  startled  him. 

Good  God!  is  the  woman  mad,  or  fanatical?  he 
thought,  that  she  adjures  me  so.  What  can  God  have  to 
do  with  this  matter  ? 

"  I  am  not  what  you  think  me,  Monsieur,"  she  replied, 
as  if  answering  to  his  muttered  thoughts ;  "  but  very 
plain,  very  practical,  very  real ;  though  not  ashamed  of 
cherishing  exalted  sentiments,  and  to  prove  to  you  that  I 
am  so,  this  realistic  being  for  the  sake  of  our  community 
of  class,  and  from  the  fact  that  we  are  compatriots,  I 
meant  to-day  to  offer  you  the  benefit  of  my  needle,  while 
here,  to  repair  such  garments  as  else  must  become  useless 
to  you.  I  have  observed,  with  pain  and  concern,  that 
your  shirt-bosom  is  buttonless ;  that  some  of  your  hand 
kerchiefs  are  unhemmed ;  that  there  are  holes  in  your 
socks,  which  your  slippers  do  not  conceal,  and  that  your 
new  gray  linen  blouse  is  badly  ripped  behind.  Permit 
me  to  repair  these  articles,  and  you  will  afford  me  disin 
terested  pleasure." 

"  Mademoiselle,  how  can  I  sufficiently  thank  you  ? 
Believe  me,  I  am  truly  grateful.  I  fear  that  I,  indeed, 
have  strangely  misconceived  you,"  and  he  held  out  his 
hand  frankly,  which  she  took,  with  a  slight  courtesy,  and 
murmured  "Adieu,"  then  turned  away,  followed  by 
Eugenie,  the  last  well  pleased  to  be  relieved  so  soon  from 
the  dreariness  of  a  solitary  sitting. 


62  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 


CHAPTER   III. 

My  dearest  madam, 
Let  not  my  love  encounter  with  your  hate. — SHAKESPEARE. 

It  were  all  one 

That  I  should  love  a  bright  particular  star 

And  seek  to  wed  it. — SHAKESPEAEE. 

O"N"  the  following  morning,  Mrs.  Thermor  found  her 
self  alone  with  Mr.  Rivers  in  his  atelier,  as  was 
rarely  the  case. 

He  did  not  need  Eugenie,  who  was  glad  to  be  excused, 
for  the  sittings  had  lost  their  novelty  to  her.  Rose 
Blamire  had  gone  out  on  the  bay  fishing  with  the  Lind 
says,  and  the  post  of  Mademoiselle  Minande  was  of 
course  at  the  side  of  her  pupil.  Colonel  Kavanaugh, 
who  was  a  fixture  in  the  establishment,  and  whose  in 
terest  in  Mrs.  Thermor  and  her  children  was  paternal, 
was  smoking  on  the  piazza,  and  could  be  distinctly  seen 
as  he  furled  and  unfurled  his  banner-like  newspapers  by 
the  inmates  of  the  pavilion  through  the  widely  opened 
door  and  windows. 

The  flower  garden  lay  between  the  mansion  and  this 
little  vine-clad  school-house  (of  late,  remodelled  and 
newly-named),  and  the  slaves  engaged  at  that  season  in 
repairing  the  walks,  and  putting  the  beds  in  order,  under 
the  direction  of  a  Scotch  gardener,  were  constantly  pass 
ing  beneath  the  windows  of  the  pretty  building  which 
now  served  as  an  atelier  as  well,  and  so  prevented  any 
feeling  of  especial  privacy  that  might  under  the  circum 
stances  have  proved  embarrassing  to  Mrs.  Thermor. 

As  in  accordance  with  the  "  pose  "  that  had  been  de- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  63 

terhiined  on,  Mrs.  Thermor  was  obliged  to  look  from, 
into,  and  beyond  the  guelder  rose.  She  saw  Mademoi 
selle  Minande  at  a  considerable  distance,  slowly  passing 
up  and  down  the  hyacinthe  walk,  with  an  open  book,  on 
which  her  eyes  were  fixed  intently ;  while  Eugenie,  by 
her  side,  played  with  her  white  rabbit.  It  was  the  hour 
of  the  first  recess,  and  they,  in  their  several  ways,  were 
both  enjoying  it. 

"  The  strangest  little  creature,"  Mrs.  Thermor  broke 
out  suddenly  and  absently.  "Truly  my  cousin  said 
well  when  she  spoke  of  her  odd  ways — Mademoiselle 
Minande  I  mean,  of  course — Mr.  Rivers.  By-the-by, 
do  you  know,  I  cannot  get  a  word  out  of  her,  good,  bad, 
or  indifferent,  about  the  Countess  Cluche.  She  will  not 
even  describe  her  appearance,  referring  me,  when  asked 
to  do  so,  to  the  miniature  sent  by  her  hand,  which,  of 
course,  is  authentic,  and  bears  marks  about  it  of  decided 
individuality — a  beautiful  brunette  style — fair,  and  yet 
dark.  After  all,  a  picture  is  so  unsatisfactory !  She  may 
have  bad  teeth  or  a  disagreeable  smile,  for  aught  I  know,  or 
an  unpleasant  voice  and  manner.  It  is  really  too  pro 
voking.  I  can't  even  arrive  at  her  exact  age,  or  how  she 
carries  it — through  this  little  piece  of  perversity  and 
non-committalism  (excuse  the  coinage),  though  I  really 
think  it  is  worthy  of  N.  P.  Willis,  our  creme  de  la 
creme,  you  know,  of  editors." 

Mr.  Rivers  bowed  deprecatingly ;  he  had  never  heard 
of  Mr.  Willis,  but  was  ashamed  to  acknowledge  his 
ignorance,  so  he  only  looked  his  recognition,  which 
answered  perfectly. 

Mrs.  Thermor  went  on  as  if  possessed  solely  with  her 
theme.  "Now,  if  you  would  only  take  the  trouble  to 


64  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OK, 

describe  the  Countess  Cluche  to  me  with  all  your  artistic 
accuracy,  I  should  be  so  much  obliged.  Details  are  so 
delightful  when  well  done." 

"  Pardon,  Madame  " — forgetting  himself  into  French 
— "  Je  n'as  pas  1'honneur,  de  connaitre  Mademoiselle  La 
Countesse  Cluche.  Je  ne  1'as  jamais  rencontre  meme ; " 
adding,  "  I  have  not  even  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
her,"  as  he  returned  with  some  confusion  to  the  vernac 
ular,  in  consideration  for  his  American  friend. 

"Ah,  je  comprends  perfaitement  quoique  je,"  she  re 
plied.  "  Indeed  I  understand  very  well,  though  I  speak 
rarely,"  translating  for  the  benefit  of  her  guest,  who,  it 
must  be  confessed,  was  not  struck  with  her  eifort  as  to 
accent ;  but  this,  in  her  case  only,  seemed  one  perfection 
more — an  adorable  condescension  which  added  the  grace 
of  humility  to  all  the  other  sweet  and  attractive  qualities 
of  her  exalted  and  goddess-like  nature. 

"  I  thought  you  were  well  acquainted  with  my  cousin 
— at  home  in  her  salon ;  in  those  of  her  associates.  How, 
then,  did  you  obtain  her  letter  of  recommendation? 
Quite  an  enthusiastic  one,  I  assure  you,  though  you  read 
it,  of  course ;  everybody  does ;  those  things  are  left  open 
on  purpose  to  be  read ;  it  is  expected." 

"  Yet  I  did  not  read  it,  not  knowing  such  to  be  ex 
pected  of  me,  Madame.  I  have  indeed  very  little  ac 
quaintance  with  the  usages  of  the  '  grande  mondc ; '  poor 
and  unknown,  though  not  without  good  belongings,  I 
have  been  obliged  to  affiliate  as  far  as  in  me  lay  with 
those  of  my  own  apparent  class  and  profession  with 
whom  I  have  happened  to  be  thrown.  I  was  reared 
very  exclusively,  however,  and  all  my  instincts  are 
opposed  to  Bohcmianism." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  65 

"  I  should  think  so — nay,  I  am  quite  sure  of  it,  from 
what  I  know  of  you  and  see  daily.  But  you  must  tell 
me  how  it  happened  that  my  cousin  felt  such  interest  in 
you,  a  stranger,  whom  she  had  not  even  the  curiosity  to 
desire  to  see  before  sending  him  forth  on  a  mission  of 
such  consequence,"  and  she  laughed  nervously. 

"  It  was  through  Madame  Burgenheim  that  I  obtained 
the  commission,  Madame,  through  her  zealous  friendship, 
unslumbering  it  seems  through  all  those  years  of  separa 
tion  which  succeeded  my  uncle's  embarrassment  until 
that  time  we  had  occupied  apartments  in  the  same  hotel 
— hers  higher  up  and  more  inexpensive  than  our  own, 
which  were  in  the  entresol,  and  opened  on  large,  old- 
fashioned  gardens,  hedged  and  walled,  of  which  we  had 
the  use ;  so  that  we  were  as  private  as  if  in  the  country. 
But  after  my  uncle's  failure  we  moved  away,  and  saw 
her  no  more.  She  could  not  follow  us,  you  know,  and 
we  never  called  to  see  her,  as  we  might  have  done  for 
the  sake  of  old  acquaintance.  However,  it  is  true  that 
after  her  little  mysterious  protege  came  to  live  with  her 
she  closed  her  doors  to  visitors  and  rarely  walked  in  the 
garden ;  so  that  the  alienation  was  commenced  before  we 
parted.  I  called  once  at  the  hotel  after  my  uncle's  death, 
but  she  was  gone ;  yet  you  see  she  remembered  me,  and 
managed  to  interest  the  Countess  Cluche  in  my  pictures 
and  success  when  she  came  into  power." 

"  Oh,  yes !  She  was  her  governess,  I  remember ;  and 
now  resides  with  her.  What  devotion  there  seems  to 
have  been  on  both  sides!  During  the  Count's  life  I 
supposed  she  was  banished  from  '  Les  Hirondelles,'  at 
least  after  educational  services  ceased  to  be  important.  I 
have  heard  something  vaguely,  I  know  not  what,  about 
4 


66  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

groat  discord  between  father  and  daughter,  fomented  by 
a  governess,  but  which  terminated  in  a  reconciliation. 
Do  you  know  anything  of  the  truth  of  the  story  ?  "  . 

"  There  was  an  engagement,  I  believe,  which  Madem 
oiselle  was  unwilling  to  fulfil  with  Raoul  Delmar,  a 
cousin,  and  Mademoiselle  retired  to  a  convent  to  be  re 
lieved  from  the  marriage,  but  after  the  death  of  the  ob 
jectionable  person  who  was  to  have  been  her  father's 
heir,  she  returned  to  him  shattered  in  health  and  youth, 
of  course,  and  lived  with  him  until  he  died  (her  young 
sister  having  died  long  before),  when  she  was  rewarded 
by  his  bequest  to  her  of  his  estate,  which,  I  must  say,  as 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  she  uses  very  munificently,  al 
though  I  have  heard  hard  things  said  of  her." 

He  suddenly  checked  himself,  remembering  when  and 
by  whom,  with  an  honorable  appreciation  of  the  nature 
of  such  confidence,  nor  could  all  the  eagerness  of  Mrs. 
Thermor's  curiosity  persuade  him  to  throw  further  light 
on  his  own  impulsive  utterance,  or  yield  his  authority. 

"  Tell  me  at  least  of  Madame  Burgenheim,  as  you  pro 
fess  to  know  nothing  of  the  Countess  Cluche,  and  also  of 
the  little  protege*  of  whom  you  spoke — a  mysterious  per 
sonage — a  moment  ago.  Who  and  what  was  she  ?  Did 
you  know  her  well  ?" 

"  A  slender,  child-like  creature,  who  was  in  delicate 
health,  and  wore  a  green  silk  domino,  by  the  order  of  her 
physician,  to  shield  her  complexion  from  the  light  so 
inimical  to  its  restoration  after  confluent  small-pox ;  came 
to  reside  with  Madame  Burgenheim  about  a  year  before 
we  left  the  faubourg  St.  Germaine.  She  was  very  young 
evidently,  and  graceful  as  a  fawn.  She  used  to  play  in 
the  old  garden  sometimes  of  summer  evenings — never 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  67 

earlier  in  the  day — but  I  neither  saw  her  face  distinctly 
nor  knew  her  name,  though  we  sat  side  by  side  in  the 
Louvre  for  the  space  of  a  whole  year,  copying  pictures 
together,  which,  by-the-by,  we  never  completed.  That 
was  nine  years  ago,  Madame,  and  I  was  under  twenty, 
while  she,  I  suppose,  was  scarcely  seventeen ;  at  least  her 
hands  and  throat  and  movements  seemed  those  of  a  per 
son  not  yet  matured,  and  were  all  very  pretty,  I  remem 
ber — though  Jules  Despreaux,  one  of  our  art  students, 
always  declared  his  belief  that  she  covered  her  face  to 
hide  some  woeful  deficiency  or  deformity,  that  of  an  eye, 
or  even  nose,  perhaps,  but  this  I  knew  was  not  true,  from 
observation." 

"  I  thought  you  never  saw  her  face,  Mr.  Rivers  ? " 
"  Nor  did  I,  Madame,  clearly  enough  to  recognize  it 
again;  yet  one  evening  I  saw  its  contour  and  outline, 
both  perfect,  in  the  dim  light  before  the  street  lamps  were 
lit,  and  while  she  was  on  the  sidewalk,  in  an  unguarded 
moment,  near  one  of  the  quays.  Her  protectress  was  ill 
on  that  occasion,  and  she  came  to  the  Louvre  alone,  or 
rather  with  an  old  purblind  bonne — her  constant  attendant 
— and  as  the  evening  was  closing  when  she  left  the  gal 
lery,  I  followed  at  a  respectful  distance.  You  see  we 
were  going  in  the  same  direction,  Madame,  so  it  was  no 
trouble  to  see  her  home ;  and  yet  etiquette  forbade  that  I 
should  approach  her  with  an  offer  of  this  sort — that  in 
exorable  French  code  of  manners,  or  morals,  which  per 
mits  no  acquaintance  between  the  young,  not  authorized 
by  the  old. 

"A  carriage  was  standing  by  the  quay  with  liveried 
footmen,  and  as  she  approached  it  I  saw  her  stop,  then 
turn  on  her  footsteps  and  fly  impetuously  back  in  my 


68  A    DOUBLE    WEDDIXG;    OR, 

direction,  leaving  her  bonne  confounded,  and  in  another 
moment  she  had  fallen  in  my  extended  arms  and  was 
clasping  me  tightly  around  the  neck,  while  her  green 
domino  was  lying  on  my  shoulder. 

" '  Oh,  save  me,  sir/  she  said ;  '  I  know  who  you  are, 
and  that  you  are  good  and  noble.  Take  me  away ;  there 
is  a  wicked  man  waiting  for  me  down  there  in  that  car 
riage.  He  did  not  see  me,  I  hope,  because  I  stopped  too 
quickly — but  he  was  waiting  to  seize  me,  and  if  he  does 
I  am  lost — I  am  lost.' 

"Such  a  wail  went  up  from  her  young  lips,  Madame, 
as  would  have  moved  a  heart  of  stone;  but  I  had  just 
time  to  lead  her  to  the  corner  of  the  next  street  and  bid 
her  fly  (what  became  of  the  bonne  I  never  knew),  when 
I  saw  a  man  leap  from  the  carriage  and  approach  me 
with  menacing  gestures. 

"There  was  only  one  thing  to  be  done,  of  course,  so  as 
to  gain  time.  I  threw  myself  between  him  and  the 
object  of  his  pursuit,  so  as  to  block  his  progress,  which 
was  not  difficult  to  do  at  the  corner  of  that  dark,  narrow 
street.  In  another  moment  we  were  struggling  fiercely, 
blindly;  but  I  had  not  been  to  the  schools  of  defence  for 
nothing,  and,  slight  as  I  was  in  comparison  with  his  burly 
form,  would  soon  have  dealt  him  an  effectual  blow  had 
he  not  forestalled  me  by  the  use  of  his  stiletto. 

"A  keen,  sharp  pain,  like  the  stab  of  some  Titanic 
needle,  seemed  to  penetrate  my  vitals.  I  staggered,  fell, 
and  it  was  not  until  my  poor  little  bird  had  time  to  wing 
her  way  home  and  make  my  uncle  (who  knew  all  about 
her,  I  believe)  acquainted  with  my  condition  (for  she 
turned  and  saw  the  rencounter  as  she  ran)  that  I  was 
picked  up,  bleeding  and  insensible,  on  the  very  spot 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  69 

where  the  ruffian  had  stabbed  and  left  me.  I  should 
have  been  dead  long  before  morning,  the  doctor  said,  had 
I  not  been  found,  and  the  street  was  obscure  and  no 
thoroughfare — a  sort  of  cul-de-sac — though  it  opened  by 
means  of  an  alley  into  another,  through  which  my  incog 
nita  made  her  escape.  It  was  a  short  cut,  and  she  had 
fortunately  taken  it  once  or  twice  before  when  belated  or 
in  a  hurry  to  get  home  with  Madame  Burgenheim. 
This  was  my  first  adventure." 

"  Why,  surely,  after  all  you  had  done  for  them,  those 
ladies  were  not  insensible  to  your  sufferings  ?  Did  neither 
of  them  call  on  you — you,  their  young  champion  and 
knight  errant  ?  " 

He  smiled,  well  pleased  with  her  enthusiasm,  which 
was  real,  not  assumed,  as  her  beaming  eyes,  her  height 
ened  color  manifested,  her  hands  clasped  in  deep  atten 
tion,  forgetful  of  the  "pose"  required  for  the  por 
trait. 

He,  too,  had  ceased  to  think  of  his  picture,  so  absorbed 
•\vas  he  in  the  reality,  and  had  he  followed  his  impulse, 
another  moment  would  have  found  him  at  her  feet, 
wildly  kissing  her  hands  and  the  very  hem  of  her  gar 
ment,  perhaps,  in  the  humility  of  his  adoration. 

He  was  as  truly  love-sick  as  was  Romeo  when  he 
loved  Rosaline,  and  before  he  knew  Juliet. 

But  he  restrained  his  inclinations  manfully,  and  it  was 
well  he  did,  for  a  minute  later  Colonel  Kavanaugh's  hat 
and  about  half  the  face  under  it  passed  along  and  was 
cut  by  the  level  of  one  of  the  windows,  while  the  keen 
old  gray  eyes  were  darted  into  the  atelier,  in  a  mere 
passing  glance  that  meant  nothing  at  all,  probably,  and 
sought  nothing,  but  which  certainly  must  have  been 


70  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

quite  as  satisfactory  as  it  was  searching,  as  he  came  no 
more. 

The  lady  had  come  into  pose  again  and  the  artist  had 
resumed  his  brush  and  his  story  before  the  old  Seneschal 
of  Birk-braes  saw  fit  to  reconnoitre,  which  he  conceived 
to  be  both  his  duty  and  privilege,  especially  when 
strangers  and  foreigners  were  about. 

"  For  reasons  that  I  never  understood,"  continued  Mr. 
Rivers,  "  I  saw  Madame  Burgenheim  no  more,  though  I 
know  my  uncle  thought  them  satisfactory  and  approved 
of  her  conduct.  I  was  very  ill;  the  stiletto  had  pierced 
one  of  my  lungs,  and  it  was  long  before  I  recovered  my 
stamina,  even  after  convalescence  had  set  in.  In  those 
days  we  were  rich,  and  needed  nothing  of  comfort  or 
luxury  that  money  could  buy ;  but  later,  when  the  dark 
days  came,  you  know,  Madame  Burgenheim  remembered 
me  and  gained  me  this  appointment,  or  commission 
rather,  and  so  amply  repaid  her  debt  of  gratitude,  if 
such,  indeed,  it  could  be  considered." 

"  Oh,  certainly,  the  obligation  was  her  own.  Do  you 
not  suppose  the  young  girl  was  her  daughter,  or  near 
relative  in  some  way?  She  might  have  had  good 
reasons,  you  know,  of  her  own,  for  wishing  to  conceal 
her  very  existence.  Remember  Pauline  and  Madame  de 
Genlis.  I  wonder,  by-the-by,  whether  or  not  Countess 
Cluche  knows  aught  of  this  transaction.  Ahem  !  Liv 
ing  as  she  did  in  a  convent  so  long  I  suppose  she  is  very 
devout,  very  particular  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell,  indeed,  Madame,  how  far  she  is,  or  was, 
acquainted  with  this  phase  of  the  life  of  Madame  Burg 
enheim,  who  had  long  since  left  her  service,  probably. 
But  I  can  never  believe  that  any  firing  like  disgrace  or 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  71 

wrong-doing  attached  to  either  of  those  most  perfect  per 
sons — Madame  Burgenheim  or  her  protege.  There  was 
about  both  an  atmosphere  of  purity  that  was  unmis 
takable." 

"  Now  it  is  worth  while  to  have  a  champion  like  you, 
Mr.  Rivers,  staunch  to  the  backbone.  You  cannot  pre 
vent  me  from  drawing  my  own  inferences,  however, 
confide  as  you  may.  Tell  me  frankly,  did  you  never  see 
little  green  domino  again,  with  or  without  her  absurd 
disguise  ?  " 

"  She  came  to  me  several  times,  Madame,  through  a 
private  door  in  the  wall  that  was  known  to  one  old  valet 
— Rosolio  alone.  He  had  found  it  out  accidentally,  and 
he  it  was  who  led  her  to  my  side.  She  came  at  twilight, 
when  my  uncle  was  at  his  club  and  Madame  Burgen 
heim  I  suppose  elsewhere  engaged,  probably  at  her 
devotions,  and  those  visits  recur  to  me  more  as  the  rev 
elations  of  an  angelic  presence  than  anything  with 
which  my  memory  or  imagination  have  ever  furnished 
me. 

"  Clothed  in  her  long  white  robes,  and  closely  veiled 
like  a  young  nun  or  bride  on  her  marriage  day,  and 
redolent  with  the  odors  of  the  flowers  she  brought  me 
and  laid  with  her  own  hand  on  my  pillow,  while  her 
low  voice  breathed  prayers  above  my  head — she  came 
and  departed  like  a  phantom  of  delight.  Of  course  I 
imagined  myself  wildly  in  love  with  her,  and  told  her  so ; 
and  I  supposed  my  passion  returned,  though  she  never 
acknowledged  this  in  words,  at  least,  and  never  but  once 
permitted  me  to  clasp  her  hand  in  mine  even  for  a 
moment,  and  that  was  on  the  occasion  of  her  farewell 
visit,  when  we  interchanged  rings  and  kisses  in  the  pros- 


72  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

ence  of  Rosolio,  who  was  vowed  to  keep  our  secret,  and 
so  ended  my  first  and  last  romance." 

"  What  a  tame  lover  you  were,  after  all !  Kisses, 
indeed !  Why  did  you  not  pursue  your  good  fortune 
after  you  got  well  again,  or  send  Rosolio  to  do  so  ?  " 

"  My  uncle  discharged  Rosolio  when  he  failed,  which 
was  not  very  long  after,  and  I  remember,  while  I  was 
ill,  that  he  called  him,  in  my  hearing,  an  intriguing  old 
Italian  scoundrel,  so  I  suppose  he  suspected  something, 
especially  as  this  worthy  man  took  much  pains  to  con 
vince  me,  later,  that  my  little  green  domino  was  nothing 
but  a  runaway  nun,  who  had  been  restored  to  her  con 
vent  at  last  by  Madame  Burgenheim. 

"  But  my  uncle  never  unclosed  his  lips  on  the  subject 
to  me  from  first  to  last ;  and,  in  his  deep  adversity  and 
sorrow,  which  laid  the  foundation  of  his  mortal  malady, 
I  could  not  bear  to  cross  or  grieve  him  in  any  way. 
After  his  death  I  failed  to  trace  Rosolio,  for  whom  I 
sought ;  and,  as  I  told  you,  found  that  Madame  Burgen 
heim  had  departed  without  leaving  any  clue  to  her 
whereabouts  at  the  old  St.  Gcrmaine  lodging ;  but  when 
she  called  to  give  me  the  mission  of  the  countess,  I  did 
renew  my  inquiries  about  her  protege,  but  she  refused  to 
answer,  as  she  had  a  right  to  do. 

"  She  may  be  married,  dead,  or  buried  in  the  walls  of 
a  convent,  one  or  the  other,  for  aught  I  know,  or  even 
care,  but  I  sincerely  wish  her  happiness,  wherever  she 
may  be,  angel  as  she  is,  whether  on  earth  or  in  heaven." 

"And  you  mean  to  let  the  matter  drop  here?" 

"Oh,  surely,  Madame  would  not  have  me  persevere 
Against  so  many  obstacles,  the  greatest  of  all,  perhaps, 
my  own  indifference ! "  He  said  these  words  slowly. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  73 

"But  that  you  should  be  indifferent  after  all  that,  is  so 
dreadful !  Did  the  wound  leave  a  scar  ?  Let  me  see  the 
ring.  I  suppose  you  wear  it  still  ?  I  always  thought 
constancy  the  sweetest  thing  in  nature — but  the  most 
incomprehensible.  Life  is  so  short  you  know — and  every 
year  makes  such  a  difference  in  everybody,  except  some 
old  selfish  fossils  that  never  change — Colonel  Kavanaugh, 
and  the  like/'  and  she  rang  out  a  merry  peal  of  laughter, 
as  suddenly  checked  as  she  recollected  the  excessive  im 
propriety  of  ridiculing  a  member  of  her  household  to  a 
transient  guest — a  sacred  relic,  too,  of  her  husband's  trust 
and  friendship — to  an  itinerant  artist — even  if  the  one 
was  prying  and  disagreeable  and  the  other  as  charming  as 
a  prince  of  fairy  tales. 

"  I  have  lost  the  ring  since  I  came  here,"  he  said  with 
some  constraint.  "  I  must  have  forgotten  it  on  my  wash- 
stand  when  hurried  by  the  breakfast  bell,  and  when  I 
came  back  it  was  gone — thrown  out  probably  by  the  ser 
vant.  It  was  an  opal,  and  that  is  why  I  removed  it  when 
I  placed  my  hands  in  water — the  legend  goes,  you  know, 
that  those  stones  are  ruined  by  frequent  ablutions — such 
as  is  my  necessity  to  make." 

"Oh  yes,  of  course,  those  dreadful  paints — enough  to 
spoil  any  hands !  Wouldn't  you  like  to  give  up  painting 
altogether,  Mr.  Rivers  ?  It  is  such  a  disagreeable,  dirty 
work ;  then  the  smell  of  the  oils !  it  is  enough  to  make 
one  faint — and  the  danger  of  the  white  lead  and  the 
chromo  green.  Did  you  ever  have  the  painter's  colic, 
Mr.  Rivers?" 

"  Never,  Madame ;  the  gentlemen  of  our  art  are  not 
subject  to  it.  It  is  confined  to  mechanics."  And  he 
drew  himself  up  slightly. 


74  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

"  House-painters.  Oh !  yes,  I  had  forgotten ;  of  course 
there  is  an  immense  difference  ! " 

"Only  where  genius  is  the  dividing  and  distinctive 
characteristic."  After  a  severe  and  bitter  struggle,  he 
said  at  last,  "  I,  for  one,  claim  no  superiority  as  to  mere 
art  to  the  man  who  grains  and  varnishes  your  house  doors ! 
See,  what  a  failure  I  have  made  in  this  picture  which  I 
undertook  with  such  mistaken  confidence  in  my  own 
powers,  and  for  which  I  have  been  base  enough  to  accept 
part  payment  in  advance !  It  is  poor — it  is  flat — it  is 
wretched  in  all  but  the  composition — and  even  that 
supremely  graceful  grouping  I  owe  to  the  suggestion  of 
another,  a  little  milliner,  or  actress,  or  grisette  perhaps, 
to  whom  God  has  given  the  painter's  eye  denied  to  me. 
Were  I  to  do  what  I  ought  to  do,  and  owe  to  you,  to 
myself,  and,  above  all,  to  Mademoiselle  Cluche,  I  would 
dash  my  brush  across  the  senseless,  enamelled  surface,  and 
erase  forever  from  my  canvas  the  wretched  snuff-box 
type  of  effigy  in  which  I  have  dared  to  endeavor  to  en 
shrine  a  goddess.  Yes,  Madame,  I  would  like  to  give  up 
the  practice  of  my  art — trade,  rather  let  me  call  it  in  such 
hand  as  mine — and  take  the  spade  from  the  hands  of  one 
of  your  slaves,  so  that  I  might  at  least  accomplish  some 
genuine  thing,  and  learn  to  be  useful,  as  I  can  lay  claim 
to  no  higher  vocation." 

So  saying,  he  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  and 
tears  might  have  been  seen  flowing  over  his  fingers — tears 
of  mortification,  disappointment,  pain. 

The  hands  were  gently  taken  down,  and  the  pale  and 
tear-stained  face  exposed  to  view,  while  Mrs.  Thermor, 
calm,  yet  pitying  and  tender,  stood  above  him.  The  burst 
of  passion  had  electrified  her  for  a  moment,  but  this 
phase  of  feeling  was  over. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  75 

"You  have  excited  yourself  too  much  to-day  by  re 
counting  that  sad  story  of  your  early  love,"  she  said, 
gently.  "Believe  me,  you  underrate  your  own  genius, 
Mr.  Rivers.  The  only  objection  that  can  be  urged  against 
your  portrait  is,  that  it  is  too  beautiful  for  me." 

"  Too  beautiful  for  you  ! "  and  he  raised  his  quivering 
hands,  which  she  had  now  relinquished.  "  Oh,  had  my 
pencil  been  dipped  in  the  many-tinted  fires  of  the  setting 
sun,  it  could  not  have  produced  anything  so  bright,  so 
glorious  !  As  to  that  story  of  my  vapid  youth — that 
retrospect  of  what  was  never  more  than  a  dream — how 
could  you  suppose  for  a  moment  that  it  stirred  me  in  any 
way  ?  It  was  related  to  amuse,  to  divert,  you — nothing 
more — to  make  you  forget,  as  you  have  not  lately  seemed 
to  do,  the  dreariness  of  a  tete  a  tete  in  my  atelier,  for 
you  avoid  me,  Mrs.  Thermor — I  cannot  remain  blind  to 
this — and  I  am  withering  heart  and  soul  beneath  your 
neglect,  your  scorn,  in  comparison  to  which  the  ghastly 
scar  left  years  ago  by  my  adversary  is  as  nothing ;  yet 
how  have  I  oifended,  save  in  the  depth  and  silence  of  my 
respectful  and  unobtrusive  devotion,  still  as  it  has  been 
and  strong  as  death." 

With  her  color  coming  and  going,  her  bosom  heaving 
with  its  variety  of  novel  and  conflicting  emotions,  her 
hazel  eyes,  usually  so  softly  bright,  opening  and  con 
tracting  as  those  of  a  frightened  child  might  do,  Mrs. 
Thermor  stood  and  listened  to  this  unexpected  outburst. 

At  last  she  said :  "  I  am  -sure,  Mr.  Rivers,  I  have 
never  had  the  least  idea  of  being  offended  with  you  or 
treating  you  with  scorn.  On  the  contrary,  I  admire  and 
respect  you  extremely ;  and  you  must  remember  that  to 
sleep  in  the  small  recitation-room,  where  Miss  Minande 


76  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

assisted  Elsie  to  hang  the  white-muslin  tent-draperies 
over  the  bed,  and  arrange  the  oak  cottage  set,  purposely 
procured  from  Baltimore,  was  your  own  choice;  for  I 
offered  you  my  very  best  bedroom — not  only  because  you 
were  the  friend  of  Countess  Cluche,  but  because  I  honor 
genius  for  its  own  sake  extravagantly,  and  wished  to 
make  you  perfectly  comfortable  at  Birk-braes,  as  Mr. 
Thermor,  were  he  living,  would  wish  to  see  you  made, 
for  he  was  the  soul  of  hospitality." 

Under  this  slow,  cold  dropping  rain  of  commonplaces, 
the  exudations  of  her  inmost  nature,  mayhap,  Mr.  Rivers 
gradually  recovered  his  composure,  with  which  he  parted 
no  more  while  the  interview  continued.  He  was  as  com 
pletely  cooled  and  refreshed  by  the  process  as  is  the  poor 
young  victim  of  champagne,  whose  associates  wisely  and 
benevolently  put  his  head  under  a  hydrant  before  taking 
him  home  to  an  expectant  wife,  sister  or  mother,  as  the 
case  may  be,  but  the  cure  was  not  more  permanent. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Thermor  had  departed  a  fresh  burst 
of  agony  and  reaction  of  passion  took  demoniacal  posses 
sion  of  poor  Mazeron,  who,  forgetting  all  but  his  own 
disappointment  and  adoration,  threw  himself  wildly  upon 
his  knees  before  the  gothic  velvet  chair  in  which  Mrs. 
Thermor  had  been  sitting  for  her  picture,  a  fixture  in  the 
atelier,  and  burying  his  face  in  the  folds  of  her  cash 
mere  shawl,  he  covered  it  with  tears  and  kisses  and 
anguish.  All  this  was  perfectly  natural  and  unaffected, 
but  had  he  been  a  professed  actor  instead  of  the  artless 
Bohemian  he  was,  he  could  not  have  done  a  more  artistic 
thing;  that  is,  had  he  been  clairvoyant  enough  to  antici 
pate  the  prompt  return  of  Mrs.  Thermor. 

Before  that  someAvhat  agitated  lady  got  half-way  across 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  77 

the  garden,  under  the  shade  of  her  large  green  parasol, 
she  remembered  that  she  had  forgotten  her  cashmere  in 
the  atelier,  and  reflected  with  horror  on  the  possible 
assault  her  parrot  might  make  upon  it  in  the  absence  of 
the  artist,  so  that  she  turned  on  her  steps  (being  desirous, 
besides,  to  have  a  final  kind  word  and  smile  with  Mr. 
Rivers,  whose  mood  she  sincerely  pitied)  and  softly  open 
ing  the  door  of  the  pavilion  beheld  him  in  the  attitude 
and  condition  above  described  ! 

As  gently  as  she  had  entered  she  withdrew,  quite  un- 
perceived  by  the  occupant  of  the  atelier,  still  pursuing 
his  devotions  before  the  chair  and  shawl.  About  fifteen 
minutes  later,  when  Mr.  Rivers  had  come  to  his  feet 
again,  and  was  slowly  pacing  the  apartment,  walking 
down  his  irritation  in  a  way  he  had  often  tried  before 
and  found  efficient,  he  was  startled  by  the  appearance  of 
Rena,  Mrs.  Thermor's  own  maid,  a  very  pretty  yellow 
slave  of  about  thirty,  who,  with  many  profound  courtesies 
and  much  circumlocution,  apologized  for  "  'sturbing  him 
by  comin'  for  mistress'  Ingy  shawl,  what  her  sister,  Miss 
Genie  Clutch,  sent  her  all  the  way  from  Paris,  long 
before  she  was  married,  and  of  which  she  thought  a  heap, 
but  somehow  Diamond  had  the  greatest  spite  against  that 
shawl,  'specially  the  fringe  part,  and  was  always  tryin' 
his  best  to  'stroy  it;  so  mistress  'sposen'  as  usual  Dia 
mond  had  hid  in  the  pavilion  had  done  sent  her  to  fotch 
it,  and  her  best  compliments  to  Mr.  Rivers,  and  'polo- 
gizes  for  interrupting  his  brown  studies,  and  would  he 
come  to  lunch,  or  should  she  fix  up  and  bring  him  a 
waiter  wid  her  own  hands  'dat  nebber  did  much  work  of 
any  kind,  for  she  had  de  best  and  most  indulgent  mis 
tress  in  de  whole  bay  settlement,  and  dat  pictur  was  jes 


78  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

de  very  spit  ob  her  and  Miss  Genie  too,  when  ole  Cap 
tain  Kavanaugh  'knowledged  dat,  cross-grained  as  he 
was,  for  he  told  his  body  servant  Coriandrew  so,  when 
he  was  fixen  of  his  best  brown  wig,  an'  'taint  often  the 
ole  captain  hab  a  good  word  for  black  or  white  " — and 
so  on  ad  infinitum,  until  Rivers  desperately  concluded  to 
accept  a  glass  of  lemonade  and  slice  of  sponge-cake 
rather  than  stand  twenty  minutes  more  of  Rena's  shower- 
bath  style  of  harangue,  and  to  bolt  in  the  interval  of  her 
departure  with  the  shawl  and  the  delinquent  Diamond 
(who  really  was  hidden  behind  it)  and  her  return  with 
the  proposed  waiter  of  refreshments. 

Two  hours  later,  there  still  wanting  some  hours  to 
dinner,  which  was  served  punctually  at  six,  in  the  newest 
Baltimore  style,  with  a  stationary  dessert  in  the  centre, 
and  after  a  stroll  on  the  beach,  which  greatly  soothed  and 
refreshed  him,  albeit  the  sun  shone  hot,  he  was  glad  to 
partake  of  the  pickled  oysters,  sliced  bread  and  butter, 
biscuit  and  tongue,  as  well  as  lighter  things,  which,  in 
the  fulness  of  her  good  feeling,  Rena  had  brought  to 
him  and  left  unbidden  on  his  table,  suddenly  adding  as 
she  went  her  way  to  herself, 

"  He  ain't  much  of  an  eater  nor  a  drinker,  neider, 
dat's  true ;  an'  he  pays  well  as  he  goes,  which  I  can't  say 
for  all  as  comes  here  wid  big  trunks  and  plenty  of  airs 
and  graces  an'  money  in  der  purses — it  shan't  be  my  fault 
nor  Juba's  if  he  starves  to  death  at  Birk-braes ;  'sides 
dat,  mistress  sets  so  much  store  by  him." 

That  afternoon,  at  the  dinner  toilet  of  her  mistress, 
Rena,  as  usual,  amused  her  with  her  speculations  on 
divers  matters ;  among  others  she  wondered  who  sewed 
on  Mr.  Rivers'  buttons  and  strings,  as  he  seemed  mighty 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  79 

"  hard  up  "  for  clothes  sometimes,  and  wouldn't  wait  for 
Aunt  Cynthy  to  mend  them  with  the  rest,  on  Saturdays ; 
and  yet,  all  the  same,  some  one  had  repaired  them  very 
nicely  over  night  in  the  laundry. 

"  Who  on  earth  can  it  be,  Rena  ?  You  must  find  out. 
I  am  really  afraid  it  is  poor  Mr.  Rivers,  himself,  put  to 
such  dreadful  straits — and  in  my  house,  too,  where  the 
maids  are  in  one  another's  way,  and  could  so  readily  re 
pair  his  clothing.  I  ought  to  have  thought  of  that  long 
ago — but  I  am  so  forgetful,  and  take  it  too  much  as  a 
matter  of  course  that  every  one  is  at  home  at  Kirk-braes." 

"  Well,  mistress,  ef  the  trufe  mus'  be  told,"  said  Rena, 
peering  round  the  chair  into  the  face  of  Mrs.  Thermor, 
"  we  all  'specs  that  Miss  Minande  Mademoiselle,  as  Miss 
Genie  calls  her ;  dey  do  say  dat  dem  two  French  folk  am 
engaged  to  be  married,  and  jus  tends  li$e  to  strangers 
for  grandeaur's  sake;  case  Jemima,  she  saw  Miss 
Minande  sewing  up  de  tail  part  of  Mr.  Rivers'  gray 
linen  blousey  last  night,  all  unbeknownst,  when  he  was 
in  the  parlor,  all  alone  by  herself  down  in  the  'telier  or 
school-room,  I  don't  know  zactly  which  to  call  it  now — 
with  a  sigh — an'  she  lef  two  bran  new  handkerchiefs  on 
his  bureau  which  she  was  all  day  hemming  and  marking 
with  her  own  black  hair.  Jemima  seed  her  pulling  it 
out  by  de  roots  to  make  letters  wid,  jus  like  Miss  Genie 
did  for  Mars  Ruif  wen  he  went  to  sea  las'  time ;  an' 
mighty  purty  dem  black  letters  is  I  tells  you,  on  dat 
sheer  white  lawn  cambric.  Jemima  seed  her  when  she 
cut  the  handkerchiefs  off  dat  long  piece  in  her  trunk, 
and  she  says  de  fine  lace  she's  got  rolled  up  dar  would 
make  your  bar  stand  up  on  your  head — as  to  shop- 
liftin' "— 


80  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

"  Which  you  are  doing  now  in  a  very  different  spirit, 
Rena,"  interrupted  her  mistress,  sharply.  "  Don't  pull 
so,  if  you  please ;  remember  you  are  not  combing  Colonel 
Kavanaugh's  wig,  or  the  poodle !  I  am  very  glad  indeed' 
that  Miss  Minande  has  taken  pity  on  poor  Mr.  Rivers, 
and  condescends  to  look  into  his  wardrobe,  which  it  was 
surely  not  my  affair  to  do,  though  I  wish  he  could  have 
asked  my  servants  to  repair  his  clothes  and  meet  his 
wants.  I  hope  you  don't  forget  his  towels,  Rena  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  ma'am ;  he  has  enough  an'  to  spar,  even 
for  his  sea-bath,  which  he  takes  every  day ;  an'  Juba  do 
say  he  kin  swim  like  a  fish ;  but  as  I  was  sayin'  about 
dat  Miss  Minande — " 

"  Once  for  all  I  want  no  spy  set  in  my  house,  Rena, 
on  the  actions  of  my  guests.  Let  Miss  Miuande  and  her 
affairs  alone  from  this  hour,  and  mind  your  own.  I 
observe  that  my  wardrobe  is  in  sad  disorder  of  late,  and 
I  think  I  can  account  for  it  now.  You  are  too  busy 
watching  other  people,  I  fear,  to  attend  to  your  own 
affairs.  All  those  dresses  want  pressing,  and  it  is  time 
to  do  up  my  summer  laces — quite  time."  So  poor  Rena 
was  effectually  silenced,  but  not  until  she  had  left  her 
sting  to  rankle,  for,  careless  as  Mrs.  Thermor  believed 
herself  to  be  of  the  intercourse  of  Mr.  Rivers  and  her 
governess,  or  of  any  wish  to  monopolize  him,  she  yet 
found  herself  anxious,  sleepless,  watchful  under  the 
thought  that  there  might  be  going  on,  before  her  very 
eyes,  blinded  by  vanity  and  over-confidence,  a  desperate 
conspiracy  against  her  peace — some  underhand  proceed 
ing,  of  which  she  might  possibly  be  the  dupe ! 

But  the  more  she  reflected  on  this  subject  the  more 
convinced  she  became  that,  if  attachment  there  were  at 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  81 

all,  it  was  on  Miss  Minande's  part  toward  Mr.  Rivers, 
whose  unquestionable  agitation  and  emotion  in  her  pres 
ence  she  could  only  attribute  to  one  cause,  and  resolve  to 
one  motive. 

"  He  loves  me,"  she  said,  "  as  I  have  never  been  loved 
since  the  days  of  faithless  Ernest  Ravenshaw,  and  I 
could  love  him  in  spite  of  the  sneers  of  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh,  that  old  despotic  dragon,  in  whom  my  husband 
vested  entirely  too  much  authority.  (He  to  approve, 
indeed,  if  ever  I  saw  fit  to  marry  again,  or  to  hold  up 
half  my  income  and  possess  Birk-braes  himself  for  life, 
unless  the  aspirant  were  one  I  had  long  known,  respect 
able,  rich,  and  of  suitable  age ! !) ;  or  even  the  remarks 
of  the  empty,  hollow  world,  in  which  'I  live,  move/ 
alas  !  l  and  have  my  being.'  " 

"  It  is  a  very  strange  condition  of  things,  though,""  she 
continued,  "when  one  comes  to  reflect  about  it.  'To 
love  or  not  to  love — that  is  the  question  ! '  I  feel  within 
myself  a  power — which  really  makes  me  imagine  myself 
much  stronger  than  most  women  who  usually  fall  into 
love,  I  believe — '  nolens  volens ' — pretty  much  as  I  drop 
Diamond  in  his  tub.  I  must  be  rather  superior  to  the 
common  weaknesses  of  my  sex — though  I  never  thought 
of  such  a  thing  before;  never  set  up  for  an  'esprit  fort' 
in  my  life — but  the  fact  is,  widows,  like  the  nations  of 
Europe,  must  keep  up  the  balance  of  power.  The  boys 
— (they  would  rebel,  of  course,  incited  by  old  Kava- 
naugh),  Birk-braes — a  residence  not  to  be  sneezed  at — the 
smiles  of  society  and  fifteen  thousand  dollars  a  year  (all 
for  myself  and  Genie — the  Government  clothes  those 
scapegrace  boys — besides  their  portion  was  set  apart 
from  the  first,  and  Genie  alone  is  left  in  the  hollow  of 
5 


82  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

my  hand.)  "  Let  us  begin  again,"  counting  on  her  grace 
ful-moulded  fingers,  as  she  enumerated  advantages  first, 
disadvantages  later. 

"  The  boys — Birk-braes  and  fifteen  thousand  a  year — 
besides  carriages,  servants,  cows,  horses,  sheep,  a  chapel, 
yacht  and  two  sailing-boats — and  society  ad  libitum — 
and  of  the  best  as  it  is.  Against  Rivers,  Romance,  ten 
thousand  a  year,  and  neither  house  nor  lauds  to  call  my 
own,  nor  slaves,  nor  old  Kavanaugh  to  plague  me,  nor 
Genie  to  love  me,  unless  she  chose  to  cling  to  her  mother 
(which  I  know  she  would  do),  the  sneers  of  society  and 
life  in  Paris  'au  troisieme,'  with  Bohemianism  to  dine  on 
Sunday !  Ye  gods !  I  fear  I  cannot  face  the  music ! 
yet  it  is  very  tempting,  very,  to  be  so  loved,  so  adored, 
so  worshipped;  say  what  one  will,  it  is  very  fascinating. 
And  day  by  day  his  sweet,  emotional  face  grows  into 
my  very  brain,"  and  she  veiled  her  eyes  with  her  hand. 
"  I  dream  of  him  even — I  who  rarely  dream — dream  as 
I  do  not  like  to  dream,  as  I  must  not,  of  his  vows,  of  his 
caresses,  he  that  never  yet  but  once  has  dared  to  press 
his  lips  to  my  hand,  and  then  was  reproved,  nay,  re 
pulsed  sharply.  My  life  has  been  so  calm,  so  'fancy 
free'  hitherto,  almost  without  emotion,  save  when  my 
children  were  born,  and  when  my  husband  died,  and 
now  to  be  sleepless,  miserable,  hollow-eyed  perhaps ;  all 
about  that  insinuating,  inefficient,  insignificant  artist  and 
his  little  scrap  of  sentiment  and  romance,  is  too  bad. 

"As  to  Miss  Minande,  she  is  welcome  to  him  if  she 
wants  him ;  and  I  do  believe  she  could  charm  a  bird 
from  a  bough  if  she  tries  with  those  eyes  of  hers  that 
always  seem  to  me  looking  through  a  mask ;  and  I 
believe  nothing  would  more  sincerely  relieve  me  than  to 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  83 

find  out  that  they  were  secretly  married,  and  had  come 
here  to  enact  a  farce,  make  a  fool  of  Mademoiselle 
Cluche  and  me,  which  I  am  half  inclined  to  think  I  am 
without  their  assistance,"  she  added  with  a  sad  smile, 
succeeded  by  a  little  nervous  laugh — then  a  piteous 
groaning  sigh. 

"  Heigh,  ho !  the  matter  must  be  ended ;  that  is  the 
long  and  the  short  of  it.  I  find  myself  growing  indifferent 
about  everything  except  that  man  and  his  atelier,  which 
I  am  resolved  to  visit  no  more  alone — no,  never !  after 
the  scene  of  yesterday.  If  he  wants  to  see  me  tete-a-t6te, 
he  will  have  to  come  to  my  parlor  like  other  gentlemen, 
dressed  in  that  elegantly  fitting  suit  of  fine  black  cloth  he 
wears  to  dinner  ;  not  in  his  picturesque  breakfast  blouse 
in  which  he  looks  like  Raphael.  There  never  was  any 
thing  so  graceful  and  pliable  as  his  figure,  certainly.  I 
suppose  it  is  that  gymnasium  training  he  tells  of  in 
Paris ;  but  what  to  me  are  a  man's  waist  and  shoulders, 
feet,  hands,  and  legs,  if  he  is  not  of  my  class  ?  " 

"The  'Duchess  of  Bohemia!'  I  know  who  would 
give  me  that  title  as  soon  as  I  changed  my  name  from 
Thermor  to  Rivers,  and  who  is  just  like  horrid  old  Doc 
tor  Sam  Johnson  with  Mrs.  Thrall  after  she  married 
Prozzi,  with  whom  she  found  herself  happy  for  the  first 
time  in  her  life,  however!  Come,  let  me  think,"  and 
she  turned  on  her  lace-trimmed  pillow  —  for  this  un 
spoken  soliloquy  was  uttered  internally,  after  she  had 
retired  to  her  bed,  in  which  Eugenie  was  nestling  fast 
asleep,  and  laid  one  hand  gently  as  if  in  benediction  on 
the  shoulder  of  the  child  she  loved  better  than  her  own 
life. 

Yet  the  glamour  was  fast  creeping  over  her,  which 


84  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

come  when  it  will,  soon  or  late,  continues,  like  the  influ 
ence  of  morphine,  to  lull  to  rest  all  the  sterner  moral 
faculties  and  yield  the  kingdom  of  the  brain  to  a  new 
and  irresistible  sense  of  enjoyment,  a  very  tyrant  while 
its  power  endures.  The  awaking  to  the  consciousness  of 
such  love  as  this  reminds  me  of  the  condition  of  Gulliver 
when  he  recognized  that  he  was  bound  hand  and  foot  by 
a  thousand  tiny  filaments  applied  by  pigmy  hands, 
which,  each  easily  broken  in  turn,  could  have  been 
resisted  when  they  were  being  bound  around  him,  but 
impossible  of  severance  now,  unless  by  such  mighty 
effort  as  endangered  life  and  limb. 

I  forget  at  this  moment  whether  it  was  by  the  con 
sent  of  the  multitude  or  such  endeavor  that  he  was  freed 
at  last ;  but  in  either  case  entreaty,  pain,  mortification  or 
agonizing  effort  to  the  redemption  of  the  dreamer  who 
has  delivered  himself  to  the  wily  power  of  Cupid. 

Blind,  indeed !  there  never  was  a  sharper,  more  vigi 
lant  little  god,  nor  one  who  took  more  Yankee  advant 
ages  over  his  victims  than  this  same  Dan  Cupid,  and 
those  who  read  Greek  mythology  in  the  right  spirit  will 
be  convinced  that  it  was  in  a  vein  of  excessive  irony  he 
was  represented  as  bandaged ! 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  85 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Thy  words  convince  me — all  my  doubts  are  vanished. 

TRANSLATION  FROM  ESCHYLUS. 

A  friend  should  bear  his  friend's  infirmities. — SHAKESPEARE. 

Thou  art  the  friend 
To  whom  the  shadows  of  long  years  extend. — BYRON. 

MRS.  THERMOR  appeared  at  the  breakfast  table 
on  the  morning  after  her  somewhat  sleepless 
night,  whose  commencement  we  have  noted  in  the  end 
of  our  last  chapter,  somewhat  the  worse  for  her  solitary 
vigil,  and  so  languid  and  listless  that  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh,  who  always  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  table  and  enacted 
the  role  of  "  paterfamilias,"  attacked  her  loudly  on  the 
subject  of  her  pale  cheeks  and  absence  of  mind. 

She  had  sent  him  green  tea  instead  of  black,  had  put 
two  lumps  of  sugar  and  ten  drops  of  cream  too  much  in 
his  matutinal  beverage,  and  as  it  was  one  of  her  pleasant 
peculiarities  to  be  considerate  of  every  taste  and  to  re 
member  the  several  requisitions  of  each  guest,  this  seemed 
to  him  to  argue  a  melancholy  aberration  of  some  sort  that 
ought  at  once  to  be  corrected  and  attended  to. 

After  despatching  Coriander,  his  own  particular  satel 
lite,  to  change  his  cup  of  tea,  which  caused  a  delay  not 
favorable  to  his  composure,  he  proceeded  in  the  interval 
of  its  arrival  to  his  revenge. 

"You  are  not  well,  Isabella,  this  morning — that  is 
certain.  I  shall  ask  Mandamus  to  look  in  upon  you  as 
he  passes,  if  you  are  not  speedily  better.  It  will  be  quite 
a  triumph  for  him  to  have  to  order  blue  pill,  perhaps,  for 
his  Hebe,  as  he  calls  you — our  Goddess  of  Health,  you 
know,  Mrs.  Lindsay — of  the  Bay  settlement.  I  have 


86  A    DOUBLE    WEDDIXG;    on, 

been  afraid  of  this,  Isabella — miasma,  of  course — ever 
since  you  had  that  salt  marsh  drained,"  and  he  screwed 
his  face  into  a  malignant  smile. 

"  It  was  a  very  good  place  for  plover,  I  know,"  she 
said  dryly,  "  and  convenient  to  the  house  for  shooting ; 
but  I  prefer  it  as  a  meadow,  and  prefer  cows  to  snipe, 
and  those  who  set  forth  from  Birk-braes  on  fowling  ex 
peditions  will  have  to  go  a  little  farther  to  find  them, 
that  is  all." 

.She  had  not  forgotten  yet  that  tall  hat  which  had 
passed  so  quietly  by  the  window  of  the  pavilion  on  the 
previous  day,  nor  the  suspicious  glance  that  had  been 
shot  from  beneath  it  into  the  artist's  sanctum. 

"The  tone  of  your  voice,  more  than  anything  else, 
convinces  me  of  your  indisposition,  Isabella — you  know 
how  quick  I  am  to  discover  when  my  habitues  are  out 
of  sorts — it  is  both  weak  and  querulous  this  morning, 
which  is  always  a  sign  of  sickness,  where  one  has  naturally 
a  sound,  sweet  and  healthy  utterance  like  yours.  I  am 
really  anxious  about  you,  quite  concerned,"  and  his  green 
eyes  twinkled. 

"Thank  you;  but  your  anxiety  is  entirely  thrown 
away  (Coriander,  get  hot  rice-cakes  for  your  master),  and 
I  will  ask  you  as  a  favor  to  defer  any  further  expression 
of  it  until  a  more  convenient  season.  It  is  quite  a  wet 
blanket  on  the  most  social  meal  of  the  day  (Juba,  the 
reed-birds  quick  to  Colonel  Kavanaugh.)" 

"  Sly  puss,  as  if  I  did  not  see  through  her  like  rock 
crystal!"  thought  the  crusty  old  bachelor,  who,  with 
plenty  of  means  of  his  own,  preferred  to  rusticate  at  Birk- 
braes  and  save  his  money  for  Genie — to  lead  the  hotel 
life  of  Baltimore,  with  no  one  to  love,  praise,  peck  at  and 
meddle  with. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  87 

"  Would  to  heaven  he  had  a  wife  and  fifteen  children," 
moaned  poor  Mrs.  Thermor  at  the  bottom  of  her  heavy, 
dissatisfied  heart,  as  she  met  the  small,  penetrating  eyes, 
which,  as  plainly  as  if  lips  had  spoken  it,  conveyed  the 
substance  of  his  dry  soliloquy. 

She  could  imagine  no  other  way  of  getting  rid  of  her 
incubus  than  by  devoting  him  to  Hymen.  It  never  en 
tered  her  kind  heart  to  wish  him  a  greater  evil,  and  as 
he  was  made  her  adviser  and  co-executor  by  her  husband's 
will,  with  the  injunction  that  he  should  continue  to  reside 
in  the  family  as  he  had  always  done,  she  knew  no  better 
way  of  consigning  him  to  the  furies. 

It  had  never  entered  Colonel  Kavanaugh's  hairless,  but 
certainly  not  brainless,  head  that  the  widow  of  his  friend 
would  marry  him,  but  he  inwardly  determined,  if  he 
could  honorably  prevent  it,  she  should  espouse  no  other. 
He  had  no  wish  to  deprive  her  of  Birk-braes  by  con 
niving  at  a  messalliance  on  her  part,  and  yet  to  leave 
Birk-braes  and  his  adopted  family  was  no  part  of  his 
intention. 

He  took  good  care  of  her  money  and  her  domain  as  far 
as  she  would  allow  him  to  interfere,  made  her  a  hand 
some  present  once  a  year,  kept  his  own  horses,  groom 
and  body  servant,  and,  for  his  own  sake,  her  cellar  well 
supplied  with  wines — of  which  he  drank  each  day  in.  a 
moderate  way — never  for  a  moment  affecting  ownership 
therein,  as  a  snob  would  have  done. 

He  was  tall,  gaunt,  meagre  and  unusually  homely,  but 
had  the  air  of  a  gentleman  and  the  military  bearing  of 
the  officer  that  he  was.  Well-read,  as  the  word  goes, 
and  well-bred,  as  the  word  does  not  go,  for  he  was  ad 
dicted  to  hard  swearing,  was  prejudiced,  irritable  and 


88  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

egotistical,  yet  thoroughly  "au  fait;"  detecting  the 
slightest  evidence  of  a  want  of  "  usage  du  nionde "  in 
others  and  ruthlessly  resenting  every  breach  of  strict 
decorum  as  a  personal  affront. 

His  swearing,  like  his  smoking,  was  never  done  in  the 
presence  of  ladies,  for  whom  he  affected,  if  he  did  not  feel 
it,  a  profound  respect ;  a  veneration  so  excessive  that  it  did 
not  prevent  the  witty  Mrs.  Q.  from  saying  that  as  extremes 
meet  it  almost  seemed  to  her  to  border  on  contempt,  and 
be  a  mere  manner  of  expressing  contempt  safely. 

He  listened  with  a  sort  of  pitying  sympathy  to  the 
opinions  of  sensible  women,  and  a  smile  on  hearing  them 
expressed ;  that  kind  of  odd  surprise  we  feel  when  chil 
dren  say  unexpected  smart  things.  That  an  original 
idea  should  ever  emanate  from  such  a  source  was  an  in 
comprehensible  state  of  affairs  to  him ;  and  when  he 
heard  any  female  utterance  that  he  could  not  place  im 
mediately,  he  would  ask  in  a  patronizing  way  whence  it 
was  obtained;  and  if  assured  of  its  entire  originality, 
smile  incredulously  and  shake  his  head  in  a  most  aggra 
vating  and  exasperating  manner. 

He  was  heard  to  say  repeatedly  that  the  highest  range 
of  a  woman's  inventive  power  was  in  the  fabrication  of 
millinery,  and  that  whenever  she  attempted  art  beyond 
the  combinations  of  costume  she  was  at  sea,  and  even 
unsexed,  and  from  that  hour  deprived  of  interest  and 
individuality.  Yet  notwithstanding  this  deep-seated 
conviction  of  the  entire  inferiority  of  woman  to  man  in 
every  aspect  save  one,  he  was  unusually  devoted  to 
female  society,  admired  fine  and  fashionable  attire  with  en 
thusiasm  and  marvelled  much  at  the  mysterious  garments 
and  exquisite  adjustment  of  form  and  color  that  distin- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  89 

guished  well-dressed  ladies,  and  which  he  termed  suc 
cessful  elaborations  of  their  only  art,  in  his  peculiar  mode 
of  classifying  this  department. 

If  he  respected  and  feared  any  woman  living  it  was 
the  good-natured  Mrs.  Thermor,  who  had  been  obliged 
in  self-defence  to  assert  her  independence  in  the  most 
emphatic  way,  before  she  could  venture  to  give  an  order 
in  her  own  house  beyond  her  dining-room,  invite  a  guest 
or  take  a  trip  of  pleasure,  after  her  husband's  death. 

He  had  at  last,  however,  very  unwillingly  capitulated 
— finding  her  quite  determined — and  it  was  now  under 
stood  that  there  were  limits  he  should  not  pass  openly, 
prowl,  peck,  peep  and  satirize  as  he  might  and  would 
covertly. 

When  she  had  most  effectually  parried  his  attempt  at 
annoyance  and  sent  back  his  shaft  by  a  certain  con 
temptuous  curl  of  her  short,  scarlet  upper  lip,  which  he 
knew  the  meaning  of  as  well  as  if  she  had  said,  "  you 
have  gone  far  enough,  you  know  there  are  limits  assigned 
to  you,"  she  rallied  sufficiently  to  announce  the  gracious 
intention  that  in  acquiescence  with  the  prayers  of  two  of 
her  young  guests  she  had  been  meditating  and  maturing 
for  several  days,  with  a  smiling  face  and  an  eye  from 
which  all  clouds  were  suddenly  dispersed.  "And  now, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  the  honor  to  invite  you  all, 
as  I  shall  do  many  who  are  absent  at  this  moment,  to 
1  the  feast  of  roses ' — to  be  held  in  honor  of  Miss  Rose 
Blamire  and  Miss  Clara  Lindsay,  my  petitioners,  at  our 
castle  of  Birk-braes  on  the  14th  day  of  June,  or  rather 
the  evening  thereof,  at  which  we  expect  to  welcome  all 
the  charming  people  we  have  seen  described  in  Moore's 
Lalla  Rookh  and  many  outsiders  from  the  pages  of  Lord 


90  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

Byron,  or  Southey,  or  any  other  famed  poet  or  author 
who  has  created  oriental  characters.  .  To  these  the  invi 
tation  is  limited.  The  decoration  of  the  ball-room  and 
parterre  will  be  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  and  the 
guests  are  entreated  to  use  as  far  as  possible  the  poetic 
language  that  has  been  assigned  to  these  exquisite  crea 
tions.  It  is  now  the  10th  of  May,  and  it  is  supposed 
that  time  enough  has  been  afforded  to  permit  very  per 
fect  preparations  for  the  approaching  festival.  Further 
invitations  will  be  issued  at  the  close  of  the  week  to 
those  at  a  distance.  Thus  ends  the  programme." 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  sat  with  his  mouth  half  open,  his 
eyes  distended,  and  an  upraised  knife  and  fork  in  either 
hand,  which  position  he  would  have  thought  unpardon 
able  in  any  other  offender. 

"  The  woman  is  crazy,"  he  muttered ;  "  what  will  she 
do  next  ?  What  would  poor  Thermor  say,  indulgent  as 
he  was,  to  such  a  vagary?  What  will  Mrs.  Grundy 
say  ? — the  only  person  whose  opinion  she  cares  about." 

But  he  said  nothing  loud  enough  to  be  heard,  and  fell 
to  work  doggedly  on  a  fresh  mutton-chop  that  had  just 
been  brought  to  him  "en  papilotte,"  as  he  best  liked 
them,  served  by  Coriander. 

"To  Colonel  Kavanaugh  I  assign  the  character  of 
'  Fadladeen,' "  said  Mrs.  Thermor,  with  a  gracious  sweep 
of  the  head  in  the  direction  of  her  foe ;  "  and  to  Mr. 
Rivers  the  simple  and  less  interesting  part  of  'Feramorz' 
— the  artist,  methinks,  can  easily  simulate  the  '  Poet/  " 
and  she  smiled  benignly  upon  her  adorer. 

"  I  suppose  I  may  be  allowed  to  be  the  '  Veiled  Pro 
phet  of  Korassan,' "  said  merry  Lionel  Blamire,  "  or  per 
haps  Colonel  Kavanaugh  would  prefer." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  91 

"  No,  sir !  no.  I  have  nothing  to  cover  up  or  conceal 
— not  even  my  honest  ugliness,"  said  that  officer  sternly ; 
"  such  farces  are  not  fit  for  old  people  to  take  part  in, 
either  women  or  men — and  women,  we  know,  are  thought 
to  be  by  the  best  judges  old  at  forty ;  even  the  best  look 
ing  begin  to  break  considerably  before  that  time."  Here 
he  smiled  scowlingly  at  Mrs.  Thermor. 

"And  men  have  been  known  to  fall  into  premature 
dotage  before  sixty,"  she  retorted,  calmly;  "even  the 
most  sensible  are  dreadfully  tiresome  at  that  age.  I  think 
'Fadladeen'  was  an  exception.  He  was  decidedly  the 
life  of  the  prose  part  of  Lalla  Rookh,  though  insuffera 
bly  vain  and  meddlesome." 

"Madam,  I  have  forgotten  all  about  'Fadladeen'  and 
his  prosiness,  it  is  so  long  since  I  read  that  bundle  of 
nonsense — only  fit  for  boys  and  girls — that  Tom  Moore 
was  once  permitted  to  publish  and  palm  on  an  indulgent 
public,  long  since  surfeited  with  the  honey  of  his  strains. 
But  I  do  remember  something  of  'Lalla  Rookh/  and 
from  what  you  have  said,  and  from  your  last  appoint 
ment,  I  draw  the  inference  that  you  mean  to  personate 
that  absurd  and  impossible  character  yourself.  Am  I 
correct  ?  " 

"  You  will  see  when  the  time  comes,"  she  said,  smiling, 
though  her  lips  grew  pale — a  sign  with  her  of  intense 
displeasure.  "  In  the  meantime  you,  Rose,  shall  be  ap 
pointed  to  take  the  part  of  young  Nourmahal,  which  I 
am  sure  you  will  enact  beautifully  as  well  as  look ;  and 
you,  Mademoiselle  Minande,  shall  be  Namouna,  the  En 
chantress,  and  the  rose-colored  veil,  unless  I  wear  it, 
shall  be  for  Clara  Lindsay.  As  ladies  of  my  household 
I  make  these  appointments.  Gertrude  and  Eugenie  shall 


92  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

be  dancing  girls,  Bayaderes,  which  gives  a  wide  scope  to 
fancy  and  costume.  For  the  guests  of  Birk-braes  I  think 
that  from  my  own  buried  finery  of  the  past  all  can  be 
equipped." 

"  Then  you  will  not  assume  a  disguise — take  a  charac 
ter,  I  mean  ?  "  asked  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  eagerly.  "  You, 
the  lady  of  Birk-braes?" 

"Cela  depend,"  she  replied  carelessly,  rising  as  she 
spoke ;  for  it  was  not  her  wish  to  set  her  enemy  at  rest,  as 
she  might  easily  have  done  by  declaring  her  intentions. 

The  party  was  a  pretty  thought  of  Rose  Blamire's  to 
whom  she  especially  wished  to  do  honor  in  her  kinsman's 
house,  and  it  was  to  gratify  her  that  it  was  given ;  for  a 
recent  letter  had  led  her  to  expect  her  lover,  Colonel 
Stanley,  about  that  time,  whose  failing  health,  delicate 
but  not  dangerous,  had  forced  him  to  resign  after  one  or 
two  battles,  and  give  his  regiment  to  other  hands.  It 
was  hoped  that  he  would  enact  the  part  of  "Selim,"  that 
is,  if  his  wound  were  sufficiently  healed  by  the  time  of  his 
arrival ;  but,  in  the  meantime,  the  brother  and  sister  were 
to  proceed  to  Virginia  to  visit  another  relative,  promising 
to  return  a  week  before  the  festival. 

Cards  were  immediately  ordered  and  struck  in  Balti 
more,  and  freely  distributed  in  the  Bay  settlement,  and  in 
that  city,  distant  about  twenty  miles  by  water,  and  a  nice 
little  steamboat  was  to  be  chartered  for  the  occasion.  It 
was  also  announced  that  it  would  lie  all  night  at  the 
strand,  and  aiford  accommodation  for  many  of  the  gentle 
men,  while  an  empty  farm  house  not  far  from  Birk-braes 
was  to  be  fitted  up  for  the  younger  ladies  ;  such  at  least 
as  could  not  be  accommodated  at  the  spacious  villa  of  Mrs. 
Thermor. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  93 

In  the  meantime  the  pictures  progressed  slowly.  "  Fes- 
tina  lente  "  seemed  indeed  the  motto  at  Birk-braes,  which 
Lionel  Blamire,  with  his  Scotch  notions  of  bustle  and 
energy,  often  likened  to  Thomson's  "Castle  of  Indo 
lence,"  quoting  on  occasion  some  passages  therefrom  that 
seemed  to  his  fancy  apposite.  We  venture  to  transcribe 
one  or  two  of  these  which  he  recited  and  altered  slightly 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Enchantress  herself: 

"  It  was,  I  ween,  a  lovely  spot  of  ground, 

And  there  a  season  atween  June  and  May, 
Half  prankt  with  spring — with  summer  half  unbrowued ; 

A  listless  climate  made,  where,  sooth  to  say, 
No  living  wight  could  work,  nor  cared  even  for  play. 

Thither  continual  pilgrims  crowded  still, 
From  all  the  roads  of  earth  that  pass  thereby ; 

The  freshness  of  the  valley  smote  the  eye, 
And  drew  them  ever  and  anon  more  nigh, 

Till  clustering  round  the  enchantress  fair  they  bring." 

The  alteration  was  not  of  moment,  for,  truth  to  tell, 
Mrs.  Thermor  had  never  heard  there  was  a  wizard  in  the 
case  instead. 

In  pursuance  of  her  late  determination,  Mrs.  Thermor 
appeared  no  more  at  the  atelier  alone,  and  when  Constance 
or  Clara  Lindsay  failed  to  accompany  her  (the  first  a 
maiden  lady  of  middle  age,  the  aunt  of  the  two  young 
girls  who  were  to  figure  at  the  masquerade,  very  sensible 
and  clear-sighted)  she  compelled  Eugenie  (now  very  sel 
dom  in  requisition,  for  the  part  she  bore  in  the  group 
of  two  was  very  nearly  completed)  and  Mademoiselle 
Minande  to  bear  her  unwilling  company.  During  these 
sessions  she  very  narrowly  observed  the  manner  of  the 
artist  toward  the  governess,  and  could  discover  nothing 
but  an  amiable  condescension  or  a  slight  touch  of  impa 
tience  in  his  mode  of  treating  her. 


94  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

Mademoiselle,  as  usual,  was  quite  inscrutable  and  vig 
ilant,  breaking  out,  however,  at  times  in  little  bursts  of 
original  thought  and  even  enthusiasm,  which  would  have 
greatly  amused  and  shocked  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  skepti 
cal  of  all  save  abject  conventionalism  as  far  as  women 
were  concerned. 

She  had  views  of  her  own  on  many  subjects — con 
sidered  marriage  in  most  cases  a  mere  earthly  compact — 
all  the  more  binding  that  it  was  a  voluntary  bargain,  and 
not  heaven-compelled — but  did  conscientiously  believe 
that  there  were  some  instances  of  such  sweet  and  close 
affinity  in  married  life,  that  Plato's  doctrine  of  a  divided 
soul  finding  its  severed  half  on  earth  instead  of  heaven, 
and  Swedenborg's  conjugal  theory  seemed  verified.  All 
other  marriages  she  considered  a  mere  earthly  partner 
ship,  that  should  be  honorably  fulfilled  while  the  neces 
sity  lasted,  but  could  have  no  force  beyond  the  grave, 
and  might  be  reasonably  dissolved  at  pleasure. 

This  utterance  was  the  consequence  of  an  animated 
discussion  between  Mrs.  Thermor  and  Mr.  Rivers,  in 
which  she  sided  with  the  artist,  but  went  far  beyond  him 
in  the  eloquence  and  fervor  with  which  she  repudiated 
all  marriages  of  mere  eonvenance. 

It  was  very  interesting  to  observe  what  a  lovely  light 
came  into  her  eyes,  and  how  flame-like  was  the  color 
which  flickered  in  her  usually  waxen  cheek  while  her 
little  moods  of  excitement  lasted. 

They  were  soon  quieted  down,  however,  and  it  was 
curious  to  note  how  quietly  the  features  resumed  their 
marble  calm,  and  how  sadly  the  eyes  drooped  again,  as 
if  accustomed  to  tears  over  the  Penelope's  web  with 
which  she  seemed  always  engaged  when  in  the  presence 
of  others. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  95 

Dressed  in  her  simple  robes  of  percale,  chiefly  blue 
and  white,  the  unfailing  apron,  the  small  bells  of  gold 
which  tinkled  in  her  ears ;  cuffs  and  collars  of  snowy, 
glossy  linen  (then  little  worn  in  the  United  States,  and 
never  endurable  unless  specklessly  clean  and  fresh),  with 
her  trim  waist,  her  dainty  feet  and  hands,  she  looked  to 
perfection  the  "Fleur  de  Lis"  of  the  "Mysteries  of 
Paris,"  and  the  ideal  grisette  of  the  "  Wandering 
Jew,"  works  then  making  a  deep  and  profound  sen 
sation. 

Yet  her  face  was  not  the  face  of  Rigolette,  or  even 
"  Fleur  de  Marie,"  but  something  higher,  stronger,  far 
more  cultured  than  either,  in  which  the  extremes  of  early 
maidenhood  and  mature  womanhood  seemed  to  blend  in 
some  mysterious  way  so  as  to  puzzle  the  observer  as  to 
whether  she  had  left  behind  the  magical  teens  or  were 
passing  deep  in  the  twenties.  It  was  a  mournful  face 
Siive  when  she  laughed — then  the  very  soul  of  gayety 
seemed  to  pervade  every  line,  every  feature  thereof,  from 
the  strangely  flexible  and  pointed  lip,  which,  almost 
concealing  the  two  front  teeth  over  which  it  played,  re 
vealed  at  the  sides  the  coral  gums  and  pearly  array, 
almost  to  their  conclusion.  The  mouth  was  a  very 
peculiar  one,  yet  had  its  own  beauty,  being  clearly  cut 
and  singularly  expressive,  the  lower  lip  firm,  yet  full 
enough  to  counteract  the  exceeding  thinness  of  the 
upper,  and  the  whole  expression  shrewd,  yet  sweet. 

Yet  surely  Mademoiselle  Minande  was  not  a  beauty 
compared  to  the  magnificent  Mrs.  Thermor,  or  even  to  the 
sweet-pea  loveliness  of  Rose  Blamire,  or  the  regular  and 
faultless  face  of  Clara  Lindsay.  There  were,  however, 
strange  reserves  of  power  in  that  peculiar  face  of  hers 


96  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

beyond  all  these,  that  sometimes  made  her  radiantly  beau 
tiful  for  a  few  brief  moments — expressions  that,  had  an 
artist  been  able  to  arrest  them  on  his  canvas,  might  have 
made  both  famous. 

To  these,  however,  Mrs.  Thermor  was  blind — or  it 
may  be  that  she  had  no  power  to  awaken  them — though 
there  was  a  little  derisive  smile  on  Miss  Minande's  lips 
occasionally,  and  a  look  of  surprise  in  her  large  blue 
eyes,  weighed  down  as  these  were  almost  beneath  their 
long,  dark  lashes  at  most  times,  that  made  her  feel  that 
her  gouvernante  was  not  coolly  mechanical  and  reveren 
tial.  This  she  had  defined  as  "peeping  through  a 
mask."  Still  she  was  very  kind,  very  polite  to  Madem 
oiselle,  as  it  was  her  nature  and  training  to  be  to  all 
about  her.  She  could  not  have  loved  herself  as  much  as 
she  did  had  she  been  otherwise,  for  self-complacency 
takes  the  place  of  self-esteem  in  organizations  like  her 
own,  and  literally  grows  on  what  it  feeds  on — conscious 
ness  of  proper  behavior  and  the  praises  of  others. 

But  she  always  felt  a  thought  more  comfortable  away 
from  Mademoiselle  Minande  than  with  her,  and  had  a 
vague  idea  that  she  was  more  transparent  in  Mademoi 
selle's  eyes  than  of  others. 

But  she  was  mistaken.  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  whose 
influence  she  derided,  saw  twice  as  far  into  her  mo 
tives,  and  knew  her  far  better  than  she  knew  herself; 
while  Mademoiselle  was  truly  disposed  to  accept  her  for 
what  she  seemed. 

True,  she  had  not  been  able  to  shut  her  eyes  to 
the  little  flirtation  between  the  young  artist  and  his 
hostess ;  and  at  first  she  had  been,  like  every  one  else, 
amused  by  it ;  but  Jiow  that  she  saw  what  a  deep  root 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  97 

his  passion  was  taking  in  his  being,  and  how  entirely  de 
lusive  it  was  in  its  character,  she  could  but  feel  pained 
and  even  aggrieved  in  the  contemplation  of  such  ap 
proaching  misery  to  one  of  her  own  class.  "  Esprit  de 
corps "  was  apparently  very  binding  with  her,  as  it  is 
with  most  artistic  women,  but  he  had  none  of  it,  as  we 
have  seen,  and  abhorred  the  brand  of  "  Bohernianism," 
which  he  knew  clove  to  him,  while  he  despised  as  much 
the  counterpart  of  this  title  in  the  opposite  sex;  the 
artiste  or  grisette  was  alike  objectionable  to  him.  He 
was  by  birth  and  breeding  a  gentleman,  we  know,  and 
he  liked  ladies,  not  lorettes,  grisettes  or  gouvernantes, 
even  if  the  latter  were  worthy  to  be  classed  with  angels. 
This  was  his  principal  weakness — the  rock  upon  which 
he  mainly  split — but  he  had  many  more,  as  the  reader  by 
this  time  has  no  doubt  discovered ;  and  yet,  inconsistent 
as  it  may  seem,  he  was  essentially  candid,  true,  and 
loving  in  the  very  moulding  of  his  nature,  and  constant 
as  well  when  once  his  true  affections  had  been  reached. 

Mrs.  Thermor  soon  wearied  of  those  discussions  in 
which  Mademoiselle  seemed  impelled  beyond  herself  to 
take  a  part — always  breaking  into  French,  after  an  un 
availing  effort  to  express  herself  with  sufficient  fluency 
in  English,  which  language  the  young  artist  understood 
in  all  its  niceties,  even  better  than  his  own,  so  that  he 
would  involuntarily  respond  in  his  own  tongue,  and  thus 
Mrs.  Thermor  found  herself  at  a  great  disadvantage,  both 
as  listener  and  speaker.  It  could  not  be  denied  that 
Mademoiselle  spoke  very  beautifully,  and  expressed  her 
self  with  the  utmost  elegance  as  well  as  simplicity. 
"  C'est  son  metier,  her  trade,"  said  Mrs.  Thermor,  trans 
lating,  as  usual,  with  a  shrug  of  her  lovely  shoulders — 
6 


98  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

an  American  shrug — which  is  simply  a  little  shiver — not 
the  true  French  shrug — as  inimitable  as  the  way  they 
wear  their  shawls  and  hold  up  their  dresses  out  of  the 
mud. 

"Madame,  c'est  vrais,"  was  the  response  of  the  en 
amored  artist ;  "  c'est  tout  ce  qu'elle  a  enfin,  que  voulez 
vous  ? "  and  he,  too,  shrugged  with  very  little  more  suc 
cess  than  his  goddess — scarcely  understanding  what  he 
meant  himself. 

It  occurred  to  Mrs.  Thermor  to  set  Mademoiselle  to 
reading  during  these  sittings,  so  that  at  least  the  panto 
mime  of  eyes,  which  it  amused  her  to  keep  up  with 
Rivers,  should  pass  unobserved  by  Mademoiselle.  Eu 
genie,  of  course,  was  blind,  or  supposed  to  be,  through 
her  simplicity;  but  Mademoiselle  saw  everything  with 
those  large,  near-sighted  eyes  of  hers,  aided  by  that  spi 
der-like  eyeglass,  which  she  would  persist  in  using,  bal 
ancing  it  on  her  pretty  little  wax-like  nose  with  an 
address  worthy  a  Japanese  juggler. 

In  vain  did  Mademoiselle  insist  that,  as  she  could  only 
read  respectably  in  French,  she  would  infallibly  bore 
and  weary  the  company  and  monopolize  the  attention  of 
Monsieur,  who  should  be  wholly  absorbed  in  his  picture, 
but  who  would  be  obliged  to  listen  out  of  courtesy  as 
her  only  auditor. 

She  was  assured  that  Madame  enjoyed  "la  lecture 
Franoaise  above  all  entertainments,"  so  she  was  obliged 
to  read  extracts  from  Lamartine's  Holy  Land  and  Giron 
dists,  and  from  Victor  Hugo's  Notre  Dame,  books  she 
had  brought  in  her  trunk  for  her  own  edification  from 
the  library  of  her  friend,  the  Countess  Cluche,  with 
Madame  Burgenheini's  permission. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  99 

They  all  contained  the  arms  of  the  grim  count,  and 
his  name  written  in  his  own  cranky  hand,  for  they  were 
his  last  purchase ;  and  he  had  caused  them  to  be  read  to 
him  by  his  daughter  before  he  died,  partly  to  go  to  sleep 
by,  and  partly  as  a  means  of  oppression  to  her,  for  their 
contents  to  him  were  wholly  uninteresting. 

Unwillingly  as  Mademoiselle  began  to  read  as  a  seda 
tive  for  the  nerves  of  Mrs.  Thermor — something  to 
counteract  the  effect  of  the  dull  buzzing  of  the  blue-flies 
on  the  pane,  or  the  bees  without  at  their  work  of  harmless 
plunder— she  soon  became,  as  was  her  custom  to  do, 
deeply  absorbed  and  interested  in  her  occupation.  She 
lost  herself  in  those  pure  poetic  descriptions  of  Palestine 
in  which  Lamartine  threw  his  whole  soul,  as  philosopher, 
poet,  Christian,  and  her  sweet  voice  revelled  in  harmony 
of  his  euphonious  and  sonorous  phrases,  in  which  he 
above  all  French  writers  has  excelled. 

The  language  seemed  in  his  hands  a  lyre  to  which  he 
had  added  new  chords  of  thrilling  sweetness,  power,  and 
pathos,  and  sometimes  the  tears  fell  fast  from  those  large, 
luminous  eyes  over  those  passages  which  treated  of  his 
child,  his  love  and  admiration  for  her,  his  bereavement, 
his  despair. 

Nor  was  she  wrong  in  one  (presumptuous  as  it  had 
seemed  to  Mrs.  Thermor)  prophecy — as  to  Mr.  Rivers 
and  his  necessitated  attention.  Every  pulse  of  his  artistic 
heart,  open  to  all  sweet  and  solemn  influences,  vibrated 
beneath  the  tones  of  her  exquisitely  musical,  modulated 
and  passionate  voice. 

He,  too,  was  lost  in  attention;  for  these  books,  and 
such  as  these,  were  sealed  treasures  to  his  intellect  until 
now.  He,  too,  bestowed  the  tribute  of  his  tears  on  the 


100  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

death  of  the  lovely  maiden,  the  despair  of  the  poet 
father  and  the  meek  and  loving  mother,  who,  in  the  land 
of  the  holy  sepulchre,  had  been  deprived  of  all  save  one 
hope — one  solemn  presence — which  to  the  end  of  time 
must  sanctify  its  sands. 

Eugenie,  even,  who  understood  so  imperfectly  the 
words  of  those  delightful  volumes,  would  sit  listening, 
with  clasped  hands  and  uplifted  eyes,  to  the  mere  music 
of  Mademoiselle's  words,  and  would  gush  over  with  irre 
pressible  sympathy  when  she  saw  the  large,  bright  tears 
falling  on  the  pages,  without  interrupting  the  progress 
of  the  reader  or  breaking  the  sustained  timbre  of  her 
voice. 

"  She  has  wept  a  great  deal,  been  very  miserable,  no 
doubt ;  has  the  custom  of  tears,  and  has  been  obliged  to 
command  herself  thoroughly,  or  she  could  never  weep 
like  that,"  thought  Mazeron.  "  Good  God  !  what  power 
she  has !  Did  I  possess  one  tithe  of  her  self-command, 
I  should  not  be  what  I  am — a  cipher,  a  mere  incubus,  a 
ball  at  the  foot  of  a  proud  woman ;  a  ball  waiting, 
patiently  waiting,  to  be  kicked  aside ! " 

His  respect  for  Mademoiselle  Minande  rose  daily,  and 
just  in  proportion  to  this  esteem  for  her  increased  his 
wild,  hopeless  passion  for  Mrs.  Thermor. 

And  yet  he  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  that  she  loved 
him — this  glorious  dame,  reserved  and  shy  as  she  had 
become,  and  fearful  of  encountering  him  alone. 

These,  he  had  heard,  were  signs  of  female  affection, 
no  less  worthy  of  note  than  the  flushing  cheek,  the 
luminous  eye,  the  tremulous  tones  which  greet  the  wel 
come  lover. 

Would  that  he  could  ask  counsel  of  Mademoiselle 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  101 

Minande — wisest  and  most  cautious  of  maidens — she 
who  had  by  her  own  acknowledgment  so  deeply  suffered 
by  the  hands  of  ruthless  man ;  and  by  this  she  meant — 
of  course  she  meant — disappointment  in  her  moderate 
style  of  love  and  all  its  depressing  consequences.  She 
who  had  come  through  the  ordeal  so  pure  and  true ;  for 
to  see  her  was  to  believe  in  her  truth  and  purity,  and  to 
know  her  was  to  recognize  her  courage  and  independence. 
Even  in  the  very  way,  when  he  came  to  reflect  on  it,  in 
which  she  had  spoken  of  Countess  Cluche — her  patroness 
and  his — the  fearless  way  in  which  she  had  spoken 
manifested  what  truth  and  courage  were  in  her ;  for  how 
could  she  know  that  these  words  might  not  be  repeated 
again  to  the  injury  of  her  own  prosperity,  and  recoil 
upon  her  like  red-hot  hail  from  artillery  which  has 
fallen  into  the  possession  of  the  enemy  ?  How  could  she 
tell? 

"  Sent  her  to  exile,  had  she  ?  the  tyrannical  old  maid ! 
No  doubt  from  sheer  jealousy,  either  of  her  powers  and 
accomplishments,  or  of  her  hold  on  the  affections  of  some 
one  of  her  own  provincial  lovers.  No  wonder  the  poor 
little  thing  was  lonely  and  reserved — no  wonder  she 
clung  to  the  phantom  of  '  Compatriotism '  between  them 
with  such  pathetic  confidence.  He  knew  she  felt  a  disin 
terested  pride  in  his  good  appearance — that  little  country 
woman  of  his,  who  out  of  her  scanty  store  had  wrought 
him  two  handkerchiefs,  finer  than  any  he  had  possessed 
for  years,  and  mended  his  clothing  so  nicely  and  deli 
cately  that  he  never  knew  where  it  was  done  or  when 
she  did  it.  Besides,  did  she  not  show  rare  discretion 
when  she  restored  to  him  alone  and  in  no  other  presence 
the  little  opal  ring  which  she  had  found  by  the  guelder 


102  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

rose,  near  his  window  ?  Not  a  question  as  to  who  had 
given  it  to  him,  or  a  look  of  surprise  even  when  he  said, 
as  he  received  it,  '  It  would  become  your  slender  white 
finger  much  more  than  mine,  Mademoiselle  Marie ;  but 
I  cannot  offer  it  to  you  as  beseems  me  to  do,  for  it  is  the 
gift  of  one  very  dear  in  the  past.' 

" l  It  is  well  to  keep  it,  then,  for  the  past  is  precious/ 
she  said,  simply,  'and  I  do  not  wear  rings,  you  see, 
except  this,  which  is  the  present  of  a  playmate/  and  she 
held  up  the  little,  absurd  glass  seal,  with  a  gravity  that 
showed  how  she  valued  it.  Certainly  hands  more  per 
fect  and  small  had  never  been  seen  out  of  marble  than 
hers,  and  he  had  admired  them  in  the  abstract,  as  artists 
are  privileged  to  admire. 

"  You  have  beautiful  hands,  Mademoiselle  Marie/'  he 
said  gently ;  "  have  they  ever  been  modelled  ?  " 

"Never  but  once,"  she  had  replied;  "but  if  you 
would  like  to  make  use  of  them  in  your  art,  they  are  at 
your  service.  One  should  not  be  selfish,  you  know, 
about  such  accidents,"  and  she  laughed  her  merry, 
sparkling  laugh,  in  such  contrast  with  her  expression  in 
repose. 

"  She  has  no  vanity,"  he  thought,  "  no  coquetry,  and 
what  is  a  woman  without  these  ?  No  capacity  left  for 
affection  beyond  duty  and  gratitude.  I  doubt  whether 
she  knows  the  meaning  of  the  sublime  word,  passion, 
save  in  its  abstract  sense.  I  suppose  some  humdrum 
engagement  with  a  miller  or  actor,  perhaps,  has  been 
broken  off  by  a  cruel  brother  or  father,  and  this  she 
calls  disappointment ;  or  that  the  old  maid  who  sent  her 
here  was  jealous  without  sufficient  cause.  I  wish  I 
knew :  I  could  then  better  appreciate  her  as  a  confidante. 
' 


HOW    -SHE     WAS     WON.  103 

My  heart  will  break  as  it  is;  but  there  is  something 
about  her  that  keeps  me  in  bounds  all  the  time — some 
thing  strong,  cold,  pure,  deep,  like  a  bridge  of  ice  with  a 
rapid  stream  beneath  it." 

In  the  arduous  struggle  of  feeling  in  which  he  found 
himself  involved,  and  in  the  evident  withdrawal  of  Mrs. 
Thermor  from  their  former  familiar  intercourse,  the 
society  of  Mademoiselle,  which  cost  him  not  an  effort, 
became  the  chief  resource  if  not  consolation  of  Mazerou 
Rivers.  He  enjoyed  her  efficiency,  her  repose,  her 
enthusiasm — for  she  possessed  all  these  in  such  harmony 
that  the  variety  they  aiforded  her  character  was  rather 
felt  than  noted  ;  but  above  all  else,  her  rare  and  wonder 
ful  moods  and  sphered  and  perfected  thoughts  and 
opinions  on  all  subjects  surprised  and  held  him  intel 
lectually  her  captive,  and  unconsciously  to  himself 
moulded  and  uplifted  his  own  understanding,  long 
steeped  in  Bohemianism. 

His  mind  was  naturally  a  very  bright  and  susceptible 
one,  but  he  had  committed  the  fatal  error  of  mistaking 
an  inclination  for  a  gift,  and  he  had  before  him  only  the 
future  of  a  second-rate  artist,  instead  of  the  real  life  he 
might  otherwise  have  had. 

One  day,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation  in  which  he 
was  lamenting  the  enforced  necessity  of  his  association 
with  men  of  his  own  order,  Miss  Minande  said  earnestly : 

"Why  not  break  away  at  once,  then,  from  the  atelier 
and  try  some  other  undertaking?  Great  painters  shake 
off  Bohemianism  as  the  lion  shakes  the  dew  drops  from 
his  mane  when  the  sun  rises  and  it  is  time  for  him  to  set 
forth  on  his  chase — but  this  petty  artists  never  do;  they 
remain  in  the  shadow,  as  I  have  observed,  with  the 


104  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

wolves  and  the  jackals,  and  are  Bohemians  to  the 
end." 

"  Then  you  do  not  think,"  he  said,  with  evident  pique, 
notwithstanding  his  humble  estimate  of  his  own  powers, 
"  that  I  shall  ever  rise  to  distinction  ? " 

"  Not  as  an  artist,  Monsieur ;  but  there  are  other  paths 
to  success" — and  she  hesitated. 

"C'est  de  la  gloire  quil  s'agit,  n'est  ce  pas?"  he  an 
swered  sullenly,  or  rather  asked,  for  he  thirsted  for  fame 
at  this  time  as  never  before  in  his  life  had  he  craved  it, 
for  the  sake  of  the  woman  he  loved,  and  he  did  not  like 
the  colder  word,  success. 

"  La  gloire  n'est  que  pour  les  grandes  et  les  malheu- 
reux,"  she  retorted,  evasively;  "Mais  de" — 

"Ah,  a  peddler  may  be  successful,  you  know,  or  a 
trapper,  or  a  fisher,  but  what  comfort  Avould  there  be  in 
such  ignominious  success  to  a  proud  man  ? "  he  asked. 

"  So  may  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian  in  his  quiet  and 
honorable  path.  It  is  much  to  deserve  to  be  enrolled 
among  these,  and  you,  I  think,  are  both,  Monsieur 
Mazeron." 

It  was  the  first  time  she  had  called  him  by  his  Chris 
tian  name,  even  with  the  prefix  of  Monsieur,  and  it  drew 
him  near  to  her  that  she  did  so.  He  took  her  tiny  hand, 
as  he  had  never  dared  to  do  that  of  his  adored  Isabella, 
and  for  one  moment  it  was  surrendered  to  his  grasp,  then 
firmly  but  gently  withdrawn. 

"  You  are  like  a  good  little  sister  to  me,"  he  said  in 
some  confusion — "et  pour  cela,  je  vous  aime." 

Had  he  said  these  words  in  English  the  meaning 
would  have  been  widely  different,  of  course,  for  we 
Anglo-Saxons  make  stern  distinctions  between  the  words 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  105 

like  and  love,  but  they  mean  the  same  thing  in  French, 
as  we  all  know,  unless  emphasized  with  tender  looks  and 
sighs,  none  of  which  were  mingled  in  this  brotherly 
declaration. 

"Merci,  Monsieur,"  said  Mademoiselle  Marie,  as  she 
had  once  before  said,  but  this  time  without  raising  her 
eyes.  "Le  bon  Dieu  vous  dit  que  nous  sommes  tous 
freres  et  sceurs." 

It  was  a  pleasant  way  of  turning  the  matter  off,  and 
Mademoiselle  Marie's  hand  was  grasped  no  more — until 
a  desperate  drowning  wretch  was  drawn  by  such  slight 
agency  from  the  depths  of  woe,  once  again  to  know  the 
safety  and  shelter  of  the  shore  and  the  warmth  of  the 
revivifying  sunshine. 

Mademoiselle  Minande  gave  dancing  and  drawing 
lessons  to  Eugenie  in  the  school-room  in  the  morning 
before  the  hour  of  sitting  arrived,  from  which  Mr.  Riv 
ers  was  rigorously  excluded,  but  he  formed  an  exalted 
idea  of  her  grace  and  perfections  of  step  from  her  occa 
sional  quiet  performances  in  a  quadrille  and  Spanish 
dance ;  waltz  she  would  not,  deeming  it  probably  unsuit 
able  to  her  condition  to  make  so  decided  an  exhibition,  or 
perhaps  (quien  sabe?)  she  was  fastidious  as  to  partners ! 

Her  sketches  he  had  never  seen,  until  one  day  she  sud 
denly  laid  a  sample  before  him  that  startled  his  artistic 
eye  into  unqualified  admiration,  and  humbled  anew  his 
professional  self-estimate. 

"  This  is  more  than  talent ;  it  is  genius,"  he  said  fer 
vently  ;  "  I  never  could  do  anything  like  that — never." 

She  stood  beside  him  silent  and  pale  as  a  statue,  yet 
she  trembled  inwardly,  if  such  a  thing  may  be ;  and  the 
beatings  of  her  heart  sounded  loudly  in  her  own  ears, 


A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

though  she  seemed  utterly  cold  and  even  indifferent  to 
praises  that  stirred  her  as  none  had  ever  done  before,  or 
haply  might  ever  do  again,  for  this  was  the  first  draught 
of  ecstasy  she  had  received  from  the  man  she  loved. 

"  You  think  with  me,  do  you  not,  that  I  could  never 
have  given  such  hues  of  life  to  those  sunset  clouds;  that 
quiet  rolling  sea,  or  even  to  the  tiny,  vivid  forms  scat 
tered  or  grouped  about  the  beach,  perfect  as  works  of  art 
as  well  as  resemblances  (among  which  I  see  my  own  in 
the  foreground,  with  the  hand  upon  the  gunwale  of  the 
boat) ;  you  agree  with  my  estimate  of  my  own  powers  and 
yours,  do  you  not,  Miss  Minande?" 

"I  do?"  and  the  words  were  spoken  in  low,  humble 
tones,  as  if  deprecating  displeasure,  while  the  long,  dark 
lashes  veiled  the  downcast  eyes. 

"Truth  above  everything.  Hurrah!  for  my  little 
compatriot,"  he  said,  throwing  the  picture  carelessly  and 
far  from  him,  and  speaking  in  a  voice  husky  with  mor 
tification. 

"  Had  you  said  otherwise  I  should  not  have  believed 
you.  However  so,  it  is  better  as  it  is.  I  am  a  poor 
devil,  I  know,  whom  even  a  little  gouvernante  can  beat 
at  his  own  trade — with  his  own  tools ;  and  the  worst  of 
it  is,  I  am  a  swindler  to  take  the  money  of  the  Countess 
Cluche  for  such  work  as  that,"  pointing  to  the  picture 
before  him.  "  Now,  hear  me,  Miss  Minande :  I  cannot 
give  back  what  I  have  received.  I  am  too  poor.  But 
not  another  centime  of  such  ill-gotten  gains  crosses  my 
palm.  Say,  am  I  right  or  wrong  ?  " 

"  Your  work  has  been  estimated  for  you,  Monsieur, 
and.  if  it  is  the  best  you  can  do  you  will  have  done  your 
duty.  Who  set  you  this  task?  She  saw,  you  know, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  107 

specimens  of  your  art  before  committing  it  to  your  hands. 
But  you  must  be  governed  by  your  own  conscience.  No 
one  can  advise  in  a  case  like  this.  I,  least  of  all,  may 
take  such  a  liberty." 

"  Those  were  copies  she  saw,  mere  copies  of  the  old 
masters,"  he  replied,  "  and  I  am  successful  at  imitation, 
at  measurement,  at  experiments  in  color ;  I  should  no 
doubt  have  made  a  good  '  memusier '  dyer,  or  upholsterer, 
had  I  not  presumed  to  grapple  with  the  mysteries  of  the 
inner  temple.  I  am  unsphered,  ( petite  Marie/  and  at 
sea  when  I  come  face  to  face  with  nature,  yet  you  com 
mand  her  with  that  tiny  wand  of  yours  to  do  your  bid 
ding  !  Now  tell  me  why  is  this — and  tell  me  truly — be 
not  afraid  to  speak,  my  gifted  child." 

"  Mon  maitre,  c'est  que  vous  manquez  la  genie,"  and 
as  she  spoke  she  sank  on  her  knees  beside  her  rejected 
picture  and  commenced  rolling  it  up  softly ;  then/  tying 
it  with  her  blue  neck-ribbon,  she  rose  to  her  feet  again 
and  gently  laid  it  beside  him.  He  had  laid  his  head 
down,  resting  his  brow  on  the  table  as  she  spoke,  and 
deep  and  bitter  groans  were  now  leaving  his  lips,  while 
his  hands  were  flung  apart  before  him  in  an  attitude  of 
abandon  and  despair  that  to  her  who  witnessed  it  was 
inconceivably  touching. 

She  bent  above  him,  and,  lightly  as  a  first  snow-flake 
falls  on  winter's  insensible  grass,  she  passed  her  lips 
swiftly  across  his  hair,  a  movement  of  which  he  remained 
unconscious,  as  she  meant  that  he  should  do.  She  would 
save  this  noble  yet  mistaken  and  misplaced  creature,  if 
such  strength  were  hers — she  vowed  it  then  and  there — 
and  that  faint,  unshared  caress  was  as  a  seal  and  a  cove 
nant  between  them. 


108  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

But  as  widely  as  planet  is  separated  from  planet  in 
this  system  of  ours  is  human  mind  from  human  mind, 
when  thought  is  unrevealed  by  expression ;  and  as  she 
stood  mutely  beside  him,  cold  and  pale  and  undemonstra 
tive,  how  could  he  guess  what  storm  of  emotion,  what 
high  resolve  were  working  in  her  heart,  strong  and  de 
voted,  and,  above  all,  tender  and  womanly  as  it  was. 

After  a  while  he  looked  up,  and,  smoothing  his  dis 
heveled  curls,  and  surely  never  had  he  looked  so  well, 
smiled  in  a  doleful  way  that  had  something  quaintly 
touching  about  it. 

"You  will  think  me  an 'enfant  gate/ Mademoiselle 
Minande,"  he  said,  "  and  esteem  me  no  more  I  fear,  or 
you  will  believe  me  envious  of  your  gifts,  which  I  am 
not,  I  assure  you — only  discouraged  and  somewhat  self- 
dissatisfied." 

"I  have  been  waiting,  Monsieur,  until  you  should 
seem  better  to  offer  you  this  little  tribute  to  your  worth 
and  ability,  that  is  all.  I  think  I  heard  you  say  this 
was  your  birthday,  Monsieur  Mazeron  ;  you  spoke  of  it 
a  week  ago  to  Eugenie,  she  says,  and  you  know  it  is  the 
custom  of  our  people  to  offer  a  slight  courtesy  on  such 
occasions.  I  made  this  sketch  on  purpose  for  this  anni 
versary — may  you  know  many  more ! " 

And  she  was  gone,  without  noticing  his  apology  or 
waiting  for  his  reply.  Again  Mazeron  Rivers  unrolled 
the  wonderful  bit  of  drawing  and  water-color  which 
would  have  made  the  fortune  of  a  professional  painter  in 
the  eyes  of  a  connoisseur ;  and  again  he  drew  the  con 
trast  between  the  genius  of  this  unpretending  girl  and 
talent  such  as  was  his  own — limited,  decent,  unprogres- 
sive  talent — which,  were  it  to  live  a  hundred  yearSj 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  109 

would  never  produce  the  wondrous  aloe  flower  of  genius 
on  the  summit  of  its  stem  of  mediocrity. 

His  resolution  was  formed  then  and  there  to  relinquish 
his  profession  and  to  bind  shoes,  or  to  roll  hats,  or  to 
mend  old  china,  so  that  he  did  either  aptly  and  honestly, 
rather  than  be  a  pretender  and  a  flatterer  on  the  path  he 
had  trodden  in  vain. 

His  picture  was  completed  nearly,  and  on  it  he  had 
done  his  best,  stiff  and  lifeless,  as  it  was  in  his  own  eyes ; 
but  he  would  leave  unattenipted  the  remainder  of  the 
order  of  Mademoiselle  Cluche,  and  touch  no  more  of 
that  money  which  now  bore  the  taint  of  charity,  since 
he  felt  that  he  had  not  earned  it  by  any  merit  of  his 
own,  strive  though  he  might  have  done  and  had  done 
zealously. 

A  few  days  would  determine  his  career ;  in  the  mean 
time  he  must  continue  to  suffer  and  deplore  his  own  folly, 
and  consent  blindly  in  worship  at  a  shrine  on  which,  like 
the  altar  of  Cain,  no  fire  had  yet  come  down  to  prove 
his  sacrifice  accepted. 


110  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OB, 


• 
CHAPTER   Y. 

Think  not  I  love  him  though  I  ask  for  him, 

'Tis  but  a  foolish  boy  ;  yet  he  talks  well.— SHAKESPEARE. 

She  bids  me  hope,  and  in  that  charming  word 

Has  peace  and  transport  to  my  soul  returned. — LORD  LYTTLETON". 

One  hour  of  such  bliss  is  a  life  ere  it  closes, 

'Tis  one  drop  of  fragrance  from  thousands  of  roses.— P.  M.  WETMOEE. 

What  sweet  delirium  o'er  his  bosom  stole. — BEATTIE'S  MINSTREL. 

TT  was  very  evident  to  Mrs.  Thermor  that  her  strategy 
-*-  had  been  successful,  and  that  poor  Mr.  Elvers  was 
quite  crushed  and  cured  by  her  proceedings,  so  that  she 
determined,  on  the  first  fitting  occasion  that  presented 
itself,  to  raise  up  his  broken  spirit  again,  and  convince 
him  that  her  regard  was  undiminished,  even  though 
adverse  fate  might  separate  them  as  lovers. 

There  was,  indeed,  a  blank  in  her  own  being,  which 
she  could  fill  in  no  possible  way  since  her  adorer  had 
ceased  to  intrude  upon  her  his  presence  and  his  sighs,  and 
to  see  him  sitting  as  now  he  did,  day  after  day,  hour  after 
hour,  in  the  honeysuckle  arbor  in  the  centre  of  the 
parterre,  engaged  in  deep  conversation  with,  or  reading 
aloud  to,  that  Marie  Minande,  with  her  eternal  em 
broidery,  out  of  those  absurd  volumes  of  hers,  no  doubt, 
which  she  had  insisted  upon  boring  every  one  to  death 
with  at  the  sittings  (no  longer  necessary  now,  for  a  hastily 
improvised  lay  figure  wore  the  velvet  dress  and  laces,  and 
did  service  for  Mrs.  Thermor)  was,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
horribly  aggravating  to  her  feelings!  He  amused,  he 
delighted  her,  that  artist  youth,  and  she  was  never  so 
happy  as  in  his  presence.  Why  should  she  give  him  up, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  Ill 

then,  just  to  please  cruel  old  Kavanaugh  and  circumspect 
Constance  Lindsay  and  crafty  Mademoiselle,  half  in  love 
with  him  herself,  and  dying  to  be  married  no  doubt,  and 
open  a  "  Parisian  Pension  !  "  No,  she  would  do  no  such 
ridiculous  thing,  especially  as  she  had  given  him  a  severe 
lesson,  which  he  had  patiently  received  and  doubtless 
profited  by.  At  all  events,  she  would  afford  him  another 
trial  she  was  resolved,  and  so  thoroughly  test  his  patience 
and  her  own  courage. 

The  occasion  soon  enough  presented  itself  which  was 
to  restore  Mazeron  Rivers  to  a  measure  of  his  old  con 
tentment — nay,  elevate  him  far  above  it  in  the  nature  of 
events,  unforeseen  at  the  moment,  and  most  fortuitous. 

An  informal  invitation  from  Mrs.  Donaldson,  a  pleas 
ant  neighbor,  forwarded  through  her  pretty  young 
daughter  Lucy  (who  rode  over  on  her  white  pony  for  the 
purpose,  before  breakfast),  to  Mrs.  Thermor  and  her 
friends,  asking  them  to  partake  at  Deansford  of  the  first 
strawberries  of  the  season,  had  reached  her  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  20th  of  May,  which  she  determined  to  make 
her  means  of  reparation. 

Strawberries  were  always  late  at  Birk-braes,  owing  to 
the  situation  of  the  garden,  and  it  had  been  the  custom 
of  Mrs.  Donaldson  for  years  to  anticipate  their  tardy  ap 
pearance  on  her  friend's  domain  in  this  manner,  and 
return,  by  her  simple  annual  entertainment  of  good-will, 
the  many  attentions  she  received  throughout  the  year  at 
the  hands  of  Mrs.  Thermor.  She  was  herself  a  widow 
with  several  children,  but  not  of  the  gay  sort,  and  she 
livod  a  secluded,  dependent,  yet  contented  life  in  the  old 
family  homestead,  with  her  father  and  mother,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dean,  an  aged  but  charming  couple. 


112  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

The  place  itself  was  like  a  peep  at  Paradise ;  the  ven 
erable  gray  house,  spacious  but  rambling,  was  buried 
among  forest  trees  and  stood  in  a  broad  green  terrace, 
supported  by  a  gray-stone  copping,  relieved  by  urns  at 
stately  intervals.  The  lawn  and  gardens  were  exquisitely 
kept  in  true  English  style,  and  the  polished  floors  of  the 
halls  of  entrance,  stairs,  and  corridors  breathed  the  best 
spirit  of  Virginia  housewifery.  All  was  simple,  frugal, 
unadorned,  for  there  was  no  great  wealth  to  lavish  in 
luxury ;  but  the  most  exquisite  neatness  and  taste  per 
vaded  every  detail  of  furniture  or  table.  And  the 
parterres  were  as  beautiful  as  a  dream. 

It  was  to  this  characteristic  and  enchanting  spot  that 
Mrs.  Thermor  determined  to  transport  Mr.  Rivers,  so 
that  their  reconciliation  might  be  perfected  in  the  pres 
ence  of  unobserving  strangers — for  she  knew  how  little 
of  the  world's  guile  and  suspicion  was  to  be  found  among 
the  denizens  of  Deansford. 

Fortunately  for  the  success  of  Mrs.  Thermor's  plan, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lindsay,  with  Clara,  their  elder  and  more 
vigilant  daughter,  had  gone  to  Baltimore  for  a  few  days, 
and  Miss  Constance  Lindsay,  her  early  friend,  was  indis 
posed.  Colonel  Kavanaugh  had  gone  off  duck-shooting 
in  the  salt  marshes,  and  would  be  absent  a  day  or  two, 
she  knew,  and  the  Blamires  were  already  on  their  Vir 
ginia  tour. 

She  would  take  Gertrude  Lindsay  and  Eugenie,  and 
offer  Mr.  Rivers  the  remaining  seat  in  the  spacious  car 
riage,  for  they  would  take  the  coach  on  this  occasion, 
owing  to  the  necessity  of  a  return  by  night.  As  for 
Mademoiselle  Minande,  she  might  take  a  holiday. 

Accordingly  while  Mr.  Rivers  was  touching  his  dra- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  113 

peries  and  anathematizing  his  lay  figure — after  the 
school  hours  were  over — so  that  he  was  sure  to  be  alone 
— for  Mademoiselle  rarely  went  to  the  atelier  now,  pre 
ferring  "the  pleached  arbor,"  as  Beatrice  did,  to  any 
windowed  chamber  in  the  month  of  May — Rena  ap 
peared,  bearing  in  her  hand  a  little  three-cornered  pink 
note,  scented  with  otto  of  roses,  sealed  artistically,  and 
directed  in  a  fine  Italian  hand,  which  ran  as  follows : 

"Mrs.  Thermor  will  be  glad  to  have  Mr.  Rivers' 
escort  to  an  informal  strawberry  feast  at  the  house  of  a 
neighbor  this  evening  at  six  o'clock,  if  he  will  so  far 
oblige  her  in  the  absence  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh." 

The  paper  remained  so  long  in  his  hands  before  he 
laid  it  down  on  the  table  that  it  occurred  to  Rena  that 
Mr.  Rivers  could  not  read  it,  being  a  Frenchman,  and 
she  began  to  explain  matters,  little  suspecting  that  every 
word  of  its  contents  had  been  committed  to  memory  be 
fore  she  spoke,  and  would  have  been  mutely  pressed  to 
his  lips  and  breast  but  for  her  presence. 

"Mistress  has  done  'cepted  Miss  Lucy  Donaldson's 
invite  for  this  evenin',  and  dat  note  is  to  ax  you  to  'com 
pany  her  if  you  has  no  'jections  or  previous  engagements, 
Mr.  Rivers." 

"  None  at  all — none  at  all " — he  said  hurriedly,  and 
rousing  himself  from  a  reverie — "  but  stop,  I  will  write," 
and  taking  his  pencil  wrote  a  brief  acceptance  on  a  scrap 
torn  from  the  note  itself,  in  a  rapid  and  impulsive  hand, 
which  plainly  denoted  his  extreme  agitation. 

"  Beg  her  to  excuse  my  want  of  pen,  ink  and  paper, 
Rena.  I  would  not  detain  you  until  I  could  have  pro 
cured  some  from  Miss  Minande.  I  have  had  no  occa 
sion  to  write  a  line  since  I  came,  and  forgot  to  provide 
7 


114  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

myself.  Please  say  this  to  your  mistress,  Rena,  in  your 
most  polite  way,  and  be  good  enough  to  buy  some  rib 
bons  for  yourself  with  this  trifle,"  handing  her  a  half- 
eagle  out  of  his  slenderly-provided  purse,  which  she 
received  with  many  "nods,  and  becks  and  wreathed 
smiles,"  valuing  fully  as  much  the  attention  as  the  in 
trinsic  worth  of  the  gift. 

"  Mistress  says,  in  edition,  please  be  ready  for  dinner 
at  four  o'clock  to-day  on  account  of  dis  here  sociable 
party.  Mrs.  Donaldson  is  one  of  de  early  birds ;  always 
has  her  tea  before  candle-light,  an'  de  house  is  dark  by 
ten  o'clock." 

After  delivering  herself  of  this  message,  she  went  off 
well  pleased  to  exhibit  her  treasure  to  Juba,  her  liege 
lord,  friendly  to  Mr.  Rivers  also,  it  may  be  remembered, 
as  far  as  his  guestship  was  concerned,  but  entirely  op 
posed  on  principle  to  any  particular  fancy  to  any  of  the 
"  genus  homo "  on  the  part  of  his  mistress.  So  far, 
and  no  farther,  he  struck  hands  with  Colonel  Kavanaugh  ! 

"  Wat  Mistis  want  wid  dat  young  painter-man  heah,  any 
way,  Rena,  I  wants  to  know,"  observed  Juba,  "  lef  alone 
draggin'  him  after  in  de  bes'  coach  to  Deansford  dis 
evenin'  ?  I  should  dispose  she  had  seen  enough  of  dem 
sort  o'  chaps  to  be  thinkin'  of  heathenly  joys  by  dis  time. 
She,  wid  two  grown-up  sons  to  her  back,  and  Miss  Genie 
old  enough  to  be  married  herself.  It  beats  me  out,  I 
declar,  Rena." 

"  Doesn't  you  know,  Jube,  the  Countess  Cluche  done  sont 
dis  young  artis  (dats  wat  dey  call  him  his  name  behine  his 
back)  to  copy  oif  Mistiss  and  Miss  Genie,  to  be  hung  up  in 
de  king's  countin'-house  ?  It's  her  bounden  duty,  man, 
to  be  polite  to  him,  and  she  was  grievin'  herself  to  death 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  115 

the  oder  day  over  his  shirt  buttons  wat  Miss  Minande 
sews  on,  an'  says  she  to  me,  '  Rena,'  says  she,  ( has  you 
neglectified  his  towels  or  not  ? '  My  mistis,  indeed,  to  be 
named  in  de  same  bref  wid  dat  good-lookin',  'flicted  boy. 
I'm  astonished  at  you,  Juba ;  w'en  you  knows,  too,  wat 
de  Ruffin  blood  is,  an'  wat  master  was  in  his  way — -jest 
as  proud  as  a  turkey-cock." 

"  Yes,  but  I  waits  on  de  table,  Rena,"  and  he  shook 
his  knowing  head,  "  an'  I  sees  most  everything  the  wite 
folks  does,  an'  I  tell  you,  gal,  der's  many  a  look  an' 
word  shoots  by  me  dat  I  studies  about  after  meal  times 
dat  none  of  'em  knows  I  'serves ;  an'  as  sure  as  you  lives, 
honey,  an'  hold  your  own,  dat  poor  young  stranger  lad 
am  greatly  'fected  'bout  mistis,  an'  I  has  my  own 
'spicions  about  her,  too.  But  I  says  no  more,  only  I  has 
made  up  my  mine  to  go  down  to  Deanford  dis  bery 
evenin'  wid  uncle  Duff  on  de  carriage-box  (Len's 
breeches  done  tored  any  way  for  'sense — he,  he !)  an'  see 
an'  hear  all  I  kin — dat's  my  retention." 

"And  to  numicate  what  you  catch  up  to  dat  old  tiptoe 
tyrant,  Colonel  Kavanah.  I'll  bet  a  guinea  egg  !  Well 
if  you  does — go  and  'tray  my  Mistis,  Juba — to  him  or 
any  oder  wite  man — J'se  done  wid  you  forever  and  a  day 
— you'se  mighty  black  any  way,  man — any  lady  ob  my 
color  has  always  her  pickens  and  choosins." 

With  this  threat  emphasized  by  a  significant  nod  of 
her  pretty  turbaned  head,  which  Juba  knew  better  than 
to  disregard,  Rena  sped  on  her  way  to  deliver  to  her 
mistress  the  message  she  had  received  from  Mr.  Rivers, 
as  well  as  his  hasty  note. 

Mrs.  Thermor  read  it  in  silence — but  Rena  saw  that 
she  was  well  pleased  and  never  had  she  looked  more 


116  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

lovely  than  in  the  azure  silk  dress  and  black  lace  shawl 
she  wore  on  that  afternoon,  while  her  bright  curls  were 
overshadowed  by  the  impending  brim  of  the  gigantic 
bonnets  then  worn,  always  so  disfiguring — and  her  face 
was  lightly  covered  by  a  thule  veil  which  softened  while 
it  concealed  not  her  radiant  beauty. 

Not  a  word  was  said  to  Miss  Minande  at  the  table  (at 
which  the  two  young  girls  and  herself  were  the  only 
persons  present  besides  Mrs.  Thermor  and  Mr.  Rivers) 
of  the  impending  engagement,  of  which  the  children  at 
the  time  were  ignorant,  but  she  suspected  something 
unusual  from  the  constraint  of  manner  of  both  of  the 
parties  interested ;  yet  when  she  saw  from  the  shaded 
back  porch,  where  she  was  sitting  with  her  book  until 
the  sun  should  leave  her  honeysuckle  bower  in  shadow, 
the  coach  drive  up  to  the  front  door  (open,  as  that  at  the 
rear  of  the  hall  so  as  to  afford  her  a  complete  view  of 
the  lawn  and  carriage  road),  and  beheld  the  two  young 
girls  who  had  holiday  that  afternoon  by  request,  and 
Mrs.  Thermor  in  her  gay  and  becoming  raiment,  step 
therein,  followed  by  Mazeron  Rivers,  carefully  dressed 
and  more  than  usually  debonair  and  graceful,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  her  poor  little  heart  sunk  to  her  toes! 
Great  bathos  this ;  yet  what  so  effectually  describes  that 
sensation  of  desperate  disappointment  that  all  who  feel 
vividly  are  conscious  of  sometimes  ? 

"  I  have  done  wrong,"  she  said — "  wrong  to  lend  my 
countenance  to  all  this — loving  him  as  I  do.  I  have  no 
business  here;  the  whole  matter  was  ill-judged,  ill- 
advised,  and  for  selfish  ends.  I  see  it  all  plainly  now. 
Yet  it  is  too  late  to  draw  back,  and  if  power  of  mine  can 
save  him  from  this  double  delusion  it  shall  be  exercised, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  117 

even  if  it  costs  me  my  own  happiness.  I  thought  he  had 
confidence  in  me  at  least,  yet  see  with  what  duplicity  he 
has  acted — this  minim  of  a  dream — for  it  is  no  more — a 
vision  from  which  even  if  his  hopes  were  gratified — insane 
as  they  are — he  would  awake  in  a  short  time  to  ennui 
and  regret  as  ineffable  as  that  which  consumed  the 
guests  of  Vathek ! 

"He — a  man  of  soul  and  sense — superior  to  any  I 
have  known — of  the  most  subtle  sensibility — of  the 
keenest  sense  of  honor — of  the  most  unblemished  purity 
— to  dance  like  a  moth  right  in  the  flame  that  must  con 
sume  him  sooner  or  later,  to  sell  himself  for  the  sheen 
of  silken  attire  and  a  position  of  worldly  importance 
that  have  dazzled  him  into  subjection  !  It  is  not  her 
beauty — no,  it  is  not  that — for  its  early  delicacy  is  gone 
already — its  splendor  on  the  wane — and  under  this  very 
roof  there  are  faces  far  more  beautiful  and  forms  of  finer 
mould  than  hers — it  surely  is  not  any  congeniality  of 
taste  or  pursuit  that  draws  them  together — her  notions 
of  art  are  crude  and  she  does  not  even  pretend  to  literary 
excellence — uo — it  is  simply  flattered  vanity  and  credu 
lous  amazement  at  an  interior — such  as  he  has  never  seen 
before  and  attention  to  which  he  has  never  been  accus 
tomed.  The  man  is  worthy  of  better  things — and  the 
woman  too — for  the  end  of  this,  in  any  case,  would  be 
mutual  dissatisfaction — yet  what  is  to  be  done?  What 
can  I  do !  Genie  too ! " 

And  the  poor  little  governess  clasped  her  hands  and 
wept — those  silent  dropping  tears,  which  she  had  learned 
to  shed  during  a  period  of  bitter  tyranny  on  one  part  and 
suffering  on  another,  when  to  pour  these  quiet  drops  was 
the  one  luxury  that  still  remained  to  her  condition,  and 
which  no  person  could  deprive  her  of. 


118  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

Yet,  by  the  time  the  evening  rays  had  left  the 
"pleached  arbor,"  and  the  low  crimson  sun  was  dropping 
to  his  rest,  "pillowing  his  chin  upon  the  rosy  sea,"  as 
Milton  says  of  such  a  sunset,  she  was  quite  composed  and 
almost  happy  again,  and  she  was  deeply  engaged  in  the 
second  volume  of  the  Girondists,  when  she  caught  the 
sounds  of  carriage  wheels  upon  the  gravelled  road,  and 
heard  the  clock  in  the  Campanile  tower  strike  eleven. 
The  young  voices  of  Gertrude  and  Genie  were  soon 
overheard  in  the  hall  and  the  low  tones  of  Mr.  Rivers ; 
but  the  cheerful  voice  of  Mrs.  Thermor  was  silent, 
though  she  distinctly  recognized  her  steps  upon  the 
stairs,  on  her  way  to  her  chamber  in  the  front  of  the 
building.  The  room  which  Miss  Minande  occupied  was 
situated  in  the  ell,  opening  on  a  connecting  platform  of 
the  stairway,  and  the  door  must  be  passed  by  any  one 
going  up  the  remainder  of  the  first  flight  of  steps  divided 
at  that  point  to  reach  the  larger  and  more  richly  fur 
nished  chambers  on  the  second  floor,  devoted  to  more 
honored  guests. 

Her  room  had  its  compensations,  however.  Its  win 
dows  overlooked  the  parterre  at  the  extremity  of  which 
the  pavilion  was  situated  ;  and  it  was  the  happy  priv 
ilege  of  the  occupant  to  see  the  flowers  and  shrubbery 
below,  and  to  notice  the  frequent  pedestrians  in  the 
garden,  one  of  whom  had  become  to  her  an  object  of 
such  surpassing  interest.  Hastily  extinguishing  her 
light,  she  watched  him  from  her  casement  cross  the 
garden  in  the  broad,  silvery  radiance  of  the  newly-risen 
moon — then  nearly  full — and  she  marked  the  unusual 
elasticity  of  his  step  and  the  gayety  of  his  mien,  as  he 
went  singing  through  the  shrubbery  a  love-song  from 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  119 

"Kobert  le  Diable,"  one  with  the  music  of  which  she 
was  familiar.  Had  she  followed  the  strong  impulse  of 
her  soul  she  would  have  gone  down  to  join  him  (when 
he  stopped  so  long  almost  beneath  her  window  to  gather 
a  handful  of  lilies  of  the  valley  and  violets,  then  in  full 
blow,  for  whom  she  readily  guessed) ;  gone  to  meet  him 
and  warn  him,  even  if  she  lost  him  forever,  of  the 
delusion  of  his  sentiments,  of  the  fallacy  of  his  hopes. 
She  was  not  a  very  conventional  woman,  and  there  were 
few  things  she  would  not  have  dared  for  the  sake  of 
those  she  loved,  though  she  was  essentially  modest  in  the 
very  framing  of  her  nature ;  false  modesty  was  a  thing 
she  repudiated. 

She  could  have  descended  that  night  into  that  moon 
lit  garden  and  have  expostulated  with  and  laid  her  hand 
upon  the  arm  of  the  man  \vho  possessed  her  entire  affec 
tion,  as  purely  and  with  as  much  holiness  of  heart  as 
though  she  had  been  an  angel  from  on  high,  deputed  to 
visit  an  erring  and  unhappy  mortal.  She  was  older  now 
than  when  Rosolio  had  shown  her  the  way  through  the 
secret  door  to  the  bedside  of  her  benefactor — loved  since 
that  hour ;  older  and  more  experienced,  both  (for  bitter 
sorrows  had  surged  over  her  since  then),  than  when  she 
laid  white  flowers  upon  his  pillow  and  gave  him  that  opal 
ring  in  exchange  for  the  little  twisted  serpents  of  her 
enamel  treasure,  which  until  lately  had  never  left  her 
finger,  but  not  a  whit  less  fervent,  less  romantic. 

He  of  course  suspected  nothing  of  this  claim  of  hers 
on  his  interest,  on  his  honor ;  might  never  know  it,  for 
with  the  green  domino  and  the  mystery  it  shadowed  forth, 
had  she  not  relinquished  all  right  to  his  vowed  affection? 

But  to  her  he  was  the  same  as  the  noble  youth  who  had 


120  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

defended  her  against  the  chief  enemy  of  her  life — who 
for  her  sake  had  received  in  his  breast  the  steel  of  the 
assassin,  and  had  honorably  forborne  to  pursue  her  with 
a  curiosity  and  determination  that  must  have  cost  her 
dear,  even  if  successful,  had  they  not  indeed  proved  fatal 
to  her  respect  for  and  confidence  in  him. 

Had  the  wealth  of  the  Countess  Cluche  been  hers, 
instead  of  poverty  and  dependence,  how  freely  she  would 
have  lavished  it  upon  him  ;  but  the  time  had  been,  after 
their  separation,  when  the  bread  she  ate  had  been  steeped 
in  bitterness  and  when  the  tyranny  of  her  superiors  had 
crushed  her  to  despair.  Even  now  that  her  lot  was  to 
some  degree  ameliorated,  she  was  an  exile  and  alien  from 
her  home,  earning  experience  in  humility  and  abasement, 
and  bitterly  regretting  the  influences  that  had  driven  her 
to  the  post  she  occupied.  It  was  no  doubt  from  a  sense 
of  the  unintentional  wrong  inflicted  by  her  powerful  hand 
that  she  had  spoken  so  bitterly  and  impulsively  one  day 
to  Mazeron  Rivers  of  the  Countess  Cluche,  an  error  never 
repeated,  and  checked  by  him  in  the  outset  it  may  be 
remembered. 

She  did  not  like  him  the  less,  it  must  be  confessed,  for 
this,  even  though  by  such  means  rebuked,  for  above  all 
qualities  she  honored  truth,  loyalty  and  justice  ;  but  his 
words  had  established  a  final  barrier  between  them  on  the 
subject  of  their  patroness  which  she  sought  to  pass  no 
more.  She  respected  the  delicacy  with  which  he  forbore 
to  inquire  concerning  the  woman  from  whose  hand  he 
was  receiving  his  bread,  unmerited  as  he  conceived  it  to 
be,  or  to  comment  on  her  proceedings  as  reported  by 
another,  even  though  that  other  were  a  person  in  whose 
veracity  he  reposed  all  trust. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  121 

•v 

During  their  close  communion  of  late,  it  may  be  sup 
posed  that  his  desire  to  consult  with  and  confide  in  her, 
expressed  some  time  before,  might  have  induced  Mazeron 
Rivers  to  lay  bare  his  secret  to  the  dispassionate  eyes,  as 
he  considered  them,  of  Mademoiselle  Marie  Minande. 
Some  strange  reticence  or  power  of  creating  such  on  her 
part,  rather  than  his  own,  a  power  which  she  uncon 
sciously  wielded,  for  she  both  desired  and  dreaded  his 
confidence,  had  kept  him  silent,  however,  with  reference 
to  the  matter  nearest  his  heart,  and  to-night  he  felicitated 
himself  a  hundred  times  that  such  had  been  the  case. 

No  one  could  ever  again  interpose  between  him  and 
the  wpman  he  adored,  for  had  he  not  that  evening 
received  unequivocal  evidences  of  her  confiding  affection, 
and  was  he  not  lifted  at  once  and  forever  from  the  depths 
of  the  ditch  of  despond  to  the  seventh  heaven  of  felicity? 

A  month  later  he  recalled  his  delusion  with  a  mocking 
smile ;  but  at  the  time  we  write  of,  the  evening  of  the 
20th  of  May — that  preceding  the  day  of  his  execution 
and  death  and  final  resurrection — this  belief  was  the  one 
reality  of  his  delirious  life  !  In  order  to  account  for  this 
condition  of  ecstasy,  however,  we  must  "  commencer  au 
deluge"  and  retrace  our  steps — or  rather  his — to  the 
moment  when  Mazeron  Rivers  followed  Mrs.  Thermor, 
that  bird  of  Paradise  of  exquisitely-dressed  perfection, 
into  her  luxurious  coach  and  took  his  seat  beside  her. 

It  was  a  bland  and  delicious  evening,  clear  and  warm, 
with  a  soft  breeze  blowing  from  the  bay,  and  a  few 
white  sails  scudding  across  it,  while  droves  of  wild  geese 
and  wedges  of  teal  duck  diversified  its  surface  or  flew 
above  it  with  their  rushing  wings  and  clanging  trumpet 
note. 


122  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

All  nature  seemed  in  unison ;  there  was  not  a  discord 
ant  note  or  jangled  wire,  and  the  fine  harmony  of  the 
external  world  attuned  the  spirits  of  those  who  had  gone 
forth  to  enjoy  it  in  the  comfortable  coach  of  Birk -braes 
— mother  and  daughter  and  guests,  with  one  exception — 
Genie  alone  was  moody. 

They  drove  on  the  smooth,  hard  beach,  just  out  of 
reach  of  the  lapping  waves,  for  some  miles,  and  then, 
suddenly  turning  from  the  bay,  found  themselves  at 
once  in  a  green,  quiet  country  road  that  led  them  insen 
sibly  to  the  place  of  their  destination.  As  they  stopped 
before  the  stone-pillared  gateway  of  Deansford,  while 
Juba,  the  footman  pro  tern.,  leaped  down  to  open  its 
hospitable  portal,  Genie  said  almost  fretfully,  rousing 
herself  from  a  silence  of  some  minutes'  duration,  during 
which  Gertrude  Lindsay  had  vainly  tried  to  awake  her 
attention  —  "Mamma,  why  didn't  you  invite  Miss 
Minande  to  come  with  us  ?  See,  there  is  ample  room  for 
another  on  this  wide  seat  between  Gertrude  and  myself; 
and  for  that  matter,  I  should  have  been  almost  willing 
to  have  stayed  at  home  to  have  yielded  her  that  pleasure. 
I  am  quite  wretched  at  the  idea  that  she  will  feel  for 
saken.  Besides,  I  had  not  time  to  tell  her  that  I  was 
coming,  Rena  hurried  me  so.  Mamma,  why  did  you  not 
let  me  know  sooner,  so  that  I  might  at  least  have  ex 
plained  my  absence  to  Miss  Minande,  or  have  apolo 
gized  ?  "  and  her  blue  eyes  swam  in  reproachful  tears. 

"  It  was  not  at  all  necessary,  my  love.  Miss  Minande 
has  no  authority  where  my  will  is  concerned.  I  am 
quite  willing  to  assume  the  whole  blame,  Genie,  if 
blame  there  be,  and  am  sorry  to  see  you  attach  such  con 
sequence  to  trifles." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  123 

"  Trifles,  mamma !  to  hurt  a  fellow-creature's  feelings 
is  not  a  trifle,  and  I  never  knew  before  that  you  thought 
so."  A  little  asperity  here;  but  her  mother  replied 
blandly — 

"  Nor  do  I,  my  love ;  but  there  is  no  question  of  this 
at  all.  Mademoiselle  Minande  is  a  person  of  too  much 
sense  and  '  savior  faire '  not  to  understand  the  whole 
proceedings  perfectly.  You  know,  Genie,  that,  what 
ever  my  own  opinion  may  be,  I  can  scarcely  expect  Mrs. 
!Donaldson  to  wish  for  the  society  of  my  daughter's  gov 
erness.  She  was  not  even  included  in  the  invitation, 
which  I  fear  I  did  not  sufficiently  explain  to  you,  Mr. 
Rivers,"  turning  to  that  gentleman.  "The  invitation 
included  all  my  guests,  so  that  you  were  asked,  remem 
ber,  on  your  own  merits  entirely ;  though  I  preferred  to 
compel  your  service  as  an  escort,  lest  peradventure  you 
should  refuse." 

"  Had  you  allowed  me  to  choose  my  motive  for  accept 
ing,  you  could  not  have  selected  better,  Madame,"  he 
rejoined,  with  a  pleased  expression  and  graceful  bow, 
which  brought  his  handsome  head  in  close  juxtaposition 
to  Mrs.  Thermor's  face,  so  that  for  a  moment  it  screened 
them  both,  while  he  whispered,  "  This  kindness  restores 
me  to  life." 

Her  heightened  color  was  her  only  response  to  this 
grateful  recognition  of  her  attention  and  reparation  for 
past  coldness ;  but  Genie,  insensible  as  Gertrude  Lind 
say  to  this  by-play,  went  on  doggedly  in  a  manner  quite 
unusual  with  her  to  ask  "  hard  questions." 

"And  do  you  not  consider  Mademoiselle  Minande 
your  guest,  mamma,  as  well  as  " — hesitating  for  a  mo 
ment,  then  speaking  very  emphatically — "  Mr.  Rivers  ?  " 


124  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

"  No,  certainly  not,  Genie ;  you  ought  to  discriminate 
better,"  and  Mrs.  Thermor  frowned  at  her  daughter  and 
fanned  herself  violently,  but  in  vain. 

"  Why  not,  mamma ;  what  difference  is  there  ?  Neither 
of  them  were  acquaintances  of  yours  until  they  came  with 
letters  from  the  Countess  Cluche.  Then  both  became 
equally  your  guests  as  far  as  I  can  see  or  understand, 
and  both  are  foreigners." 

"  This  is  a  very  disagreeable  discussion — very,  indeed 
— pray  terminate  it,  Genie.  You  talk  nonsense,  and 
here  we  are  almost  at  the  second  gate." 

"  I  do  not  care.  I  want  to  understand  this  matter. 
If  Mademoiselle  Minande  is  good  enough  to  teach  me 
and  be  my  principal  associate,  she  is  equal  to  Lucy 
Donaldson  and  her  mother,  I  should  think.  No,  you 
need  not  pinch  me,  Gertrude  Lindsay;  it  is  not  your 
dear  friend  that  is  slighted  and  ill-treated,  it  is  mine ; 
the  friend  I  love  best  in  the  whole  world — of  course  I 
mean  after  mamma  and  the  boys — better  than  Colonel 
Kavanaugh  himself,  or  you  even,  Gertrude — better  than 
myself;  and  I  do  not  know  any  one  at  present  staying  at 
Birk-braes  who  is  fit  to  hold  a  candle  to  her.  I  don't, 
mamma,  and  neither  do  you,  and  it  breaks  my  heart  to 
have  to  slight  her  so." 

Here  Genie  sobbed,  and  Monsieur  gave  tokens  of 
being  profoundly  moved,  while  Mrs.  Thermor  cast  down 
her  eyes  and  bit  her  lips  to  control  her  vexation,  which 
she  well  knew  it  was  no  use  to  vent  in  scolding  Genie, 
even  had  not  the  presence  of  others  prevented  an  ex 
plosion. 

Genie,  too  long  mistress  of  her  own  will  to  bear  to  be 
thwarted  now,  and  usually  of  her  own  accord  most 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON. 

amiable  and  considerate,  so  that  her  novel  mood  was 
really  terrifying. 

Suddenly  she  returned  to  the  attack,  wiping  her  eyes 
and  smoothing  her  hair  as  she  did  so. 

"  Do  you  not  think  Mademoiselle  a  perfect  lady,  mam 
ma — that  you  treat  her  like  a  seamstress  and  leave  her 
behind  even  when  she  is  really  invited  ?  Do  you  not 
think  her  quite  equal  to  any  one,  Monsieur,  at  Birk- 
braes?" 

"  With  one  exception,  Mademoiselle,  I  do." 

"  Oh,  you  are  obliged  to  say  that,  of  course,  but  you 
know  in  your  heart  that  she  is  more  accomplished  than 
all  of  us  put  together." 

Here  Gertrude  Lindsay  broke  in  :  "  Yes,  you  ought  to 
see  her  dance  the  shawl  dance.  I  declare  she  does  it 
better  than  Miss  La  Jonne,  our  dancing  teacher  at  Mad 
ame  Le  Baume's,  an  ugly  old  thing  as  ever  you  laid 
your  eyes  on." 

"  But  she  is  a  perfect  lady ;  none  of  your  Miss  La 
Jonnes  at  all ! "  said  Genie,  with  flashing  eyes,  turning 
on  Gertrude  Lindsay,  who  suppressed  a  giggle,  for  her 
estimate  of  governesses  had  been  formed  at  school  and 
resembled  Mrs.  Thermor's. 

"  If  she  were  to  tell  me  that  she  was  the  daughter  of 
King  Louis  Phillippe,  or  that  she  was  Joan  of  Arc  even, 
I  would  believe  her ;  there  now,"  and  she  brought  down 
her  hand  with  more  energy  than  refinement  on  her  com 
panion's  knee. 

"  Does  Mademoiselle  Minande  teach  you  to  emphasize 
in  that  manner?"  asked  Mrs.  Thermor,  coolly,  having 
her  irate  daughter  she  now  well  knew  at  advantage  and 
herself  inconceivably  annoyed  at  the  turn  affairs  had 


126  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

taken.  "  I  am  surprised  at  you,  Genie,"  she  continued, 
"  and  if  you  wish  to  know  why  Mademoiselle  is  not  my 
guest,  I  will  tell  you  frankly — because  she  is  my  hire 
ling!" 

A  slight  exclamation  escaped  Monsieur  as  this  objec 
tionable  word  slid  smoothly  from  the  lips  of  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor,  explained  in  the  next  moment  without  a  syllable 
from  his  lips,  by  the  pressure  of  his  hand  upon  his  heart, 
and  the  corrugation  of  his  forehead,  expressive  of  sud 
den  pain. 

"  He  did  not  hear  me,  what  with  his  stiteh  in  the  side 
and  the  noise  of  the  gravel-road,"  thought  Mrs.  Thcr- 
mor,  for  they  were  now  driving  up  to  the  door  of  en 
trance.  "  I  almost  wish  he  had.  I  want  him  to  know 
exactly  how  I  estimate  his  Miss  Minande.  He  is  very 
cautious  indeed,  and  non-committal  all  at  once ;  but  a 
month  ago  she  was  a  little  grisette,  and  a  presumptuous 
'petite  gouvernante/  when  she  arranged  so  successfully 
our  attitude  in  the  picture.  Well,  it  must  be  confessed, 
she  is  a  good  deal  smarter  than  he  is,  poor  dear,  gentle, 
engaging  fellow ;  and  I  suppose  the  end  of  it  will  be  that 
she  will  take  him  in,  but  who  need  care  ?  Surely  not  I, 
of  all  persons." 

The  soliloquy  ended  just  in  time  for  Mrs.  Thermor  to 
assume  her  blandest  smile,  and  bite  her  lips  in  order  to 
renew  their  rosy  tint,  before  the  carriage  stopped,  and 
Mrs.  Donaldson  came  down  the  front  steps  to  welcome 
her  guests,  and  led  them  directly  up  to  her  father  and 
mother,  who  were  seated  in  arm-chairs,  side  by  side,  on 
the  piazza. 

She  was  a  sweet,  grave-looking  woman  of  thirty-five, 
whose  eldest  child  (Lucy)  was  about  the  age  of  Genie, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  127 

though  a  head  taller.  She  led  a  life  of  deep  retirement 
with  her  parents  and  children,  whose  principal  instructor 
she  was.  She  delighted  chiefly  in  horticulture,  and  in 
flowers,  of  which  last  she  had  a  great  and  varied  assort 
ment. 

Mrs.  Thermor  had  determined  to  take  advantage  of 
the  ramble  through  the  grounds  and  gardens,  always 
proposed  to  guests  at  Deansford,  as  its  most  attractive 
features  were  thus  displayed,  to  explain  very  gently  and 
frankly  to  Mr.  Rivers — as  she  could  not  do  at  home, 
without  too  much  formality  or  the  risk  of  being  misun 
derstood  by  some  observer — the  cause  of  the  late  estrange 
ment  from  him,  and  her  satisfaction  at  finding  through 
his  behavior  that  he  had  so  well  understood  her  motive, 
her  only  one,  in  forsaking  his  atelier.  She  intended  to 
cut  away  all  possible  silken  bonds  and  grapple  him  to 
her  interests  with  hooks  of  steel  instead,  to  make  him 
her  friend,  as  he  could  not,  must  not,  be  her  lover,  and 
to  prepare  him  for  a  return  to  the  old  social  unreserve, 
by  crushing  all  possible  hope  of  aught  beyond.  After 
that  if  he  should  be  mad  enough  to  love  her  still,  it 
would  of  course  be  through  no  fault  of  hers,  "  or,v  and 
she  laughed  as  she  mentally  concluded  the  sentence,  "  or 
of  Miss  Minande's." 

This  gracious  plan  was  frustrated,  however,  by  the 
constant  presence  of  their  attentive  hostess  during  the 
proposed  ramble,  Genie  and  Gertrude  having  gone  in 
another  direction  with  Lucy  Donaldson,  and  Mrs.  Ther 
mor  found  herself  seated  at  the  tea  table  (where  straw 
berries  and  cream  were  served  in  unsurpassable  perfec 
tion,  with  all  delightful  breads,  with  plump  spring 
chickens  and  tea  and  coffee,  the  last  two  beverages  such 


128  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

as  one  rarely  gets  out  of  China  or  France)  between  old 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean,  who  took  every  pains  to  satisfy  her 
tastes  and  occupy  her  attention. 

Glancing  down  the  board  she  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  that,  although  Mr.  Rivers  was  keeping  up  an 
animated  conversation,  apparently  with  the  three  young 
girls,  all  in  a  prodigious  glee,  his  eyes  were  for  her  alone, 
and  even  his  ears,  so  far  as  he  could  separate  them  from 
the  Babel  of  sounds  around  him.  Genie  was  trying 
evidently  to  make  amends  for  her  moodiness  in  the  car 
riage,  and  her  mother  was  very  glad  to  see  her  extricating 
herself  so  pleasantly  from  their  little  misunderstanding, 
of  which  she  wisely  resolved  to  take  no  further  notice. 

After  supper  there  was  music  among  the  young  people, 
in  which  Mr.  Rivers,  as  one  of  them,  took  part,  and  con 
versation  among  the  old,  with  whom  Mrs.  Thermor  was 
necessarily  included,  and  at  ten  o'clock — the  Cinderella 
hour  at  Deansford — the  Lady  of  Birk-braes  rose  to  take 
leave,  thankful  at  heart  that  the  very  unsatisfactory  even 
ing  was  at  an  end.  At  all  events  she  had  dragged  her 
artist  away  from  Miss  Minande- — that  was  one  satisfac 
tion  ;  and  shown  that  presumptuous  piece  of  perfection 
very  plainly  what  power  she  possessed  over  the  object  of 
her  late  monopoly,  and  how  insecure  was  her  hold  on  his 
intentions,  not  to  say  affections.  These  she  felt  assured 
were  all  her  own,  and  she  would  now  return  him  to  her 
safe  and  sound  to  have  and  to  hold,  if  both  were  willing ; 
she  was  very  sure  she  was,  and  tired  of  the  whole  affair. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  that  possessed  her  during  the 
first  two  miles  of  their  rapid  moonlight  drive,  until 
startled  from  the  somewhat  bitter  train  of  reflection  by 
the  rapid  whirring  of  an  owl,  which  flitted  from  one  tree 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  129 

to  another  just  above  the  horses'  heads  with  a  wild  hoot 
of  defiance  to  some  unseen  enemy  that  seemed  a  fiend's 
mockery  in  the  ears  of  Mrs.  Thermor. 

The  horses  swerved  and  pranced  a  little  at  this  strange 
interruption  of  their  musings,  for  they  were  steady- 
going,  considerate  coursers  usually,  and  no  doubt  in 
dulged  in  many  a  reverie  of  no  un-stable  character,  but 
were  readily  restrained  by  the  hands  of  the  strong  and 
practical  Uncle  Duff,  who  thereafter  enjoined  Juba  to 
profound  silence  as  their  best  security  from  further 
trouble. 

Ten  minutes  later  the  equipage  emerged  from  the  leafy 
lane,  through  which  its  course  had  been  holden,  to  the 
broad  and  level  strand  floored  with  moonlight — but  at  a 
moment  so  unpropitious  to  the  peculiar  mood  of  "Adams  " 
and  "Jackson" — the  two  steady-going  steeds  strangely 
perturbed  by  their  late  rencounter — that  they  were  at 
once  stricken  with  a  panic  which  sent  them  off  at  a 
tangent. 

A  small  and  very  noisy  steamboat,  boasting  a  calliope 
(one  of  the  first  ever  adopted  by  a  craft  of  this  descrip 
tion),  was  rounding  to  the  landing  as  the  horses  ap 
proached  it,  emitting  sparks  and  puffs  and  screams  of 
unearthly  melody,  enough  to  have  dismayed  Bucephalus 
himself. 

As  I  have  said,  the  horses  were  off  in  an  instant,  drag 
ging  after  them  the  ponderous  coach  at  a  fearful  rate  of 
rapidity — but  fortunately  on  a  perfectly  level  and  unob 
structed  road — still  partially  controlled  by  a  hand  that 
knew  no  fear  and  was  well  skilled  to  guide,  however  it 
might  fail  in  strength.  Juba  too  lent  the  aid  of  his 
powerful  arm  to  Uncle  Duff's  tight  hold  on  the  bridles 
8 


130  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

and  jerked  the  bits  once  more  into  their  proper  lodging- 
places,  and  out  of  the  teeth  of  the  refractory  animals, 
who  seemed  possessed  by  an  ill  fiend;  but  before  this 
result  was  brought  about,  Mrs.  Thermor  had  made  vain 
efforts  to  open  the  carriage-door,  with  a  view  of  spring 
ing  out,  and  had  only  been  prevented  from  doing  so  rash 
a  thing  by  the  strong,  determined  grasp  of  Mr.  Rivers. 
Gertrude  and  Genie  sat  manfully  in  their  places,  the  first 
hiding  her  face,  but  the  latter  perfectly  unmoved — though 
terribly  frightened,  not  only  at  her  situation,  but  the 
shrieks  of  her  mother — which  rang  out  wild  and  shrill 
upon  the  night,  and  carried  dismay  to  the  soul  of  Mr. 
Rivers. 

When  Uncle  Duff  had  succeeded  in  stopping  the 
frightened  horses,  Juba  dismounted  from  the  box  and 
came  to  the  carriage-door  to  find  that  his  mistress  had 
fainted — so  that  after  consultation  and  her  partial  revival 
it  was  thought  best  to  proceed  as  cautiously  as  possible  to 
Birk-braes. 

For  Mrs.  Thermor  to  walk  the  rest  of  the  way  was  out 
of  the  question,  and  the  young  ladies,  of  course,  must 
remain  with  her  as  well  as  Mr.  Rivers,  who  felt  quite 
confident  again  of  the  pacific  dispositions  of  "Adams" 
and  "Jackson"  when  Uncle  Duff  offered  to  go  their 
security  "  for  a  hundred  dollars  that  dey  would  never  cut 
up  such  a  caper  agin  to  der  dyin'  day.  It  was  all  along 
of  dat  owl,"  he  continued,  "  some  bad  ole  man's  sperret, 
no  doubt,  'case  dem  beasts  hab  seen  too  much  of  steam 
boats  to  min'  de  snort  of  dat  little  bussy  waterfowl,  wat 
dey  has  brought  off  passengers  from  more  times  dan  dey 
has  had  new  shoes  on,  an'  dat  ain't  seldom,  I  tells  you 
quality  all,  for  dey's  'stravagant  beasts  on  shoes." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  131 

So  Uncle  Duff  remounted  his  box  and  again  charged 
Juba  to  the  intensest  silence,  and  carefully  pursued  the 
road  home,  which  the  moon  made  as  plain  as  day  could 
have  done,  casting  back  encouraging  reassurances  as  to 
the  perfectly  placable  disposition  of  "Jack"  and  "Ad" 
from  time  to  time  through  the  front  window  of  the  coach, 
to  the  great  relief  of  Gertrude  and  Genie. 

Mrs.  Thermor  noticed  nothing  that  was  said  or  done, 
giving  at  times  a  little  gasping  sigh  as  she  continued  to 
recline  on  the  shoulders  of  Mr.  Rivers,  who  tenderly  and 
respectfully  supported  her  by  placing  one  arm  around  her 
waist,  while  with  his  disengaged  hand  he  held  one  of 
hers,  Eugenie  chafing  the  other  from  time  to  time.  Very 
gradually  she  revived,  to  feel  his  hot  breath  upon  her 
cheek,  to  hear  his  murmurs  of  love  and  passionate  devo 
tion  breathed  so  close  to  her  ear  that  they  were  inaudible 
to  any  other.  Then  with  an  impulse  she  could  not  forbear 
at  the  moment,  she  turned  her  face  up  to  his,  and  their 
lips  met  in  one  long,  clinging  kiss — fortunately  in  the 
shadow  of  the  closed-up  and  curtained  back  seat  unseen 
by  any  eye. 

Fully  aroused  by  this  indiscretion  to  a  sense  of  what 
she  owed  herself,  Mrs.  Thermor  raised  her  head  and  with 
drew  from  the  embrace  of  the  magnetic  man  beside  her, 
and  from  that  moment  supported  her  brow  and  steadied 
her  brain,  still  whirling  with  alarm — not  more  than  pas 
sion  and  regret,  perhaps — on  the  other  side  of  the  car 
riage. 

A  few  minutes  more  brought  them  safely  to  the  gate 
of  Birk-braes,  and  very  soon  the  heavy  family  coach  was 
drawn  up  in  its  usual  orderly  manner  before  the  veranda 
and  the  door  of  the  family  mansion. 


132  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

Mrs.  Thermor  insisted  on  going  up  with  Rena  to  her 
bed-room,  otherwise  unsupported,  and  in  due  order  Ger 
trude  and  Genie  followed.  Mr.  Rivers,  whose  tent  we 
know  was  pitched  in  the  garden,  went  in  another  direc 
tion  to  seek  his  couch — and  it  has  been  seen  with  what 
elation  of  step  and  mien  he  passed  beneath  the  window 
of  one  quick  and  accurate  in  his  case  to  interpret  every 
symptom  of  sorrow  or  gladness.  But,  above  all  else,  the 
gathering  of  those  flowers  by  night  had  convinced  Miss 
Minande  that  he  esteemed  himself  a  favored  lover. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine,  from  what  we  know  of 
human  nature  (by  which  I  mean,  of  course,  you  and  I, 
kind  reader),  which  of  the  chief  actors  in  this  little  drama 
of  ours  passed  the  most  sleepless  night — the  lady  already 
disgusted  with  the  want  of  self-knowledge  and  self-con 
trol-  she  had  displayed  that  evening,  and  preparing  for  a 
reaction  that  should  involve  the  happiness  of  more  than 
one — or  the  young  man,  carried  away  by  delusive  and  en 
thusiastic  visions  of  approaching  felicity — or  the  devoted 
girl  who  had  staked  all  hope  on  one  desperate  venture, 
and  saw  it  ebbing  from  her,  to  leave  her  life  remedilessly 
bleak  and  desolate. 

Mademoiselle  Minande,  whether  she  had  slept  ill  or 
well,  arose  with  the  lark  and  applied  herself  to  a  certain 
ancient  book  in  which  she  often  found  consolation,  when 
all  other  resources  failed  her ;  but  Mr.  Rivers  was  late  at 
breakfast,  and  his  eyes  were  languid  and  listless  as  they 
roved  vainly  in  quest  of  the  lady  of  his  love,  absent  this 
morning  from  her  usual  post  on  the  plea  of  a  severe 
headache.  Gertrude  and  Genie  recounted,  in  a  very 
graphic  manner,  the  last  night's  episode  of  the  runaway 
horses,  and  bore  testimony  to  the  firmness  of  Mr.  Rivers. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  133 

"  Mamma  would  certainly  have  jumped  out  of  the  car 
riage  if  he  had  not  held  her,  and  I  was  afraid  she  would 
be  angry  with  him,  but  she  wasn't,"  added  innocent 
Genie,  "  she  was  so  very  much  alarmed." 

"Isn't  your  shoulder  a  little  tired  this  morning,  Mr. 
Rivers  ? "  questioned  shrewd  Gertrude  Lindsay,  with  a 
somewhat  suspicious  naivete.  "  Mrs.  Thermor,  you  know, 
is  no  slight  weight." 

"  Not  at  all,"  was  the  embarrassed  answer,  as,  looking 
up,  the  respondent  met  the  distended  eyes  of  Miss 
Minande  with  an  expression  that  haunted  him  all  day, 
though  the  gaze  itself  was  instantly  averted ;  yet  he  con 
tinued,  firmly :  "  The  only  weight  that  I  feel  is  on  my 
spirits,  for,  missing  Mrs.  Thermor,  I  fear  that  she  is  ill 
from  the  consequence  of  the  shock — a  mere  headache 
seldom  banishes  her  from  the  breakfast  table,"  adding,  as  he 
turned  to  Miss  Minande,  a  timid  and  deprecating  glance, 
"Is  not  such  regularity  'en  menage'  inimitable,  Madem 
oiselle?" 

"  C'est  un  des  premiers  lois  de  1'univers,  vous  savez," 
she  answered  gravely.  "  Que  ferions  nous  si  le  soleit  se 
levait  tard  a  cause  de  migraine?"  and  she  smiled  her 
pungent  smile. 

"She  is  as  bitter  as  quinine  sometimes,"  he  thought, 
"and,  it  must  be  added,  as  bracing,  but  give  me  rather 
conserve  of  roses  for  a  constancy ! " 

Although  placed  so  near  to  one  another  at  table  as  to 
be  able  to  converse  unheard  by  the  scattering  company, 
they  interchanged  no  more  remarks  on  that  memorable 
morning.  Mademoiselle  rose  as  soon  as  she  had  finished 
her  brief  breakfast,  and  summoning  Eugenie  and  Ger 
trude  (who,  for  the  time  being,  had  requested  leave  to 


134  A     DOUBLE     WEDDIXGj     OK, 

join  her  classes),  crossed  the  garden  in  the  direction  of 
the  pavilion;  but  Mr.  Rivers  loitered,  contrary  to  his 
wont,  about  the  house.  In  the  absence  of  that  gentleman 
he  took  possession  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh's  great  elbow- 
chair,  on  the  gallery,  and  surrounded  himself  with  the 
fumes  of  his  meerschaum  and  piles  of  newspapers,  each 
opened  in  turn  to  be  thrown  hastily  aside.  At  last  he 
arrested  Rena  on  her  way  up-stairs  with  a  waiter  of  dainty 
dishes  for  the  breakfast  of  her  mistress,  and  learned  to 
his  dismay  in  all  probability  that  Mrs.  Thermor  would 
not  emerge  until  evening  from  her  retirement,  and  that 
she  was  so  nervous  she  would  not  even  see  Miss  Genie  or 
have  the  shutters  opened. 

After  hearing  this  distressing  intelligence,  which  at  the 
same  time  flattered  his  vanity  no  little  and  raised  a  tumult 
of  mingled  hopes  and  fears  to  wage  conflict  in  his  bosom, 
Mr.  Rivers  strolled  down  to  the  beach  to  take  his  noon 
day  bath,  which  always  brought  back  the  fine  equipoise 
of  his  system  as  nothing  else  could,  not  even  blue  pill, 
valerian,  quinine,  or  what  he  figuratively  called  his  "  con 
serve  of  roses." 

Lunch  was  ready  in  the  dining-room  when  he  re 
turned,  and  he  partook  of  it  with  a  zest  unusual  to  him 
at  that  meal,  which,  to  his  Bohemian  habits,  was  some 
thing  of  a  superfluity.  He  was  glad,  he  scarcely  knew 
why,  to  find  that  Mademoiselle  Minande  was  absent,  and 
that  Miss  Constance  Lindsay  and  the  two  little  girls, 
Gertrude  and  Genie,  were  his  only  companions ;  glad  to 
get  a  bottle  of  Chambertin  all  to  himself,  for  the  task 
before  him  was  one  that  required  more  than  his  usual 
amount  of  courage.  He  availed  himself  on  this  occasion 
of  the  fine  Bath  ^pressed  paper,  sealing  wax,  and  patent 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  135 

ink  and  pens,  of  which  Rena  had  begged  him  on  the 
part  of  her  mistress  to  use  freely  whenever  he  pleased  to 
write  either  letters  or  notes,  always  to  be  found  for  the 
use  of  guests  on  a  certain  small  escritoire  in  the  library. 
Retreating  to  his  fortress,  where  he  knew  he  should 
enjoy  undoubted  security  for  the  remainder  of  the  day, 
and  ensconcing  himself  firmly  therein  by  placing  his 
table  across  the  door  (he  never  thought  of  locking),  he 
prepared  to  write  a  few  opportune  lines  to  the  Dulcinea 
of  his  affections. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

My  joy — my  best  beloved — my  only  wish. 

How  can  I  speak  the  transport  of  my  soul  ? — ADDISON. 

Uncertainty ! 

Fell  demon  of  our  fears — the  human  soul 
That  can  support  despair,  supports  not  thee ! — MALLET. 

A  FTER  inditing  pages  of  passionate  appeal  and 
-£^-  protestation,  and  blotting  them  with  his  tears,  our 
artist — ours  "par  excellence"  just  now — concluded  his 
seance  of  two  hours  by  tearing  up  all  he  had  written, 
and  contented  himself  with  hastily  dashing  off  the  follow 
ing  brief  and  unpoetical  note,  which  he  sent  by  Rena 
soon  after  its  conclusion.  It  was  dated — 

"  THE  PAVILION,  May . 

"  "Will  Mrs.  Thermor  so  far  relieve  the  apprehensions 
of  Mazeron  Rivers  as  to  send  him  one  line  of  reassurance 
as  to  her  condition,  written  by  her  own  hand  ?  and  will 
that  gracious  lady  be  so  good,  at  the  same  time,  as  to 


136  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

inform  him  when  she  will  be  able  to  grant  him  a  few 
moments  of  her  sole  society  in  the  library  of  Birk-braes  ? 
A  prompt  answer  will  greatly  oblige  the  writer  of  these 
lines,  and  do  much  towards  assuaging  his  inexpressible 
anxiety." 

This  suggestive  missive  was  sealed  with  the  before- 
mentioned  ring  of  his  uncle — so  long  concealed  near  his 
heart,  and  bearing  the  engraven  crest  of  his  family — a 
heron  among  slender  river  reeds,  holding  a  writhing 
serpent  in  its  bill — a  significant  reference,  no  doubt,  to 
some  early  conflict  with  a  wily  foeman,  in  which  the 
Rivers  arms  and  family  were  triumphant  pro  tern. 

After  a  few  moments,  that  seemed  to  lengthen  to 
hours  in  the  imagination  of  the  impatient  artist,  Rena 
returned,  twisting  in  her  fingers  a  little  rose-colored, 
three-cornered  note,  scented  as  before  with  attar  of  roses, 
and  directed  in  the  same  fine,  fluent  Italian  hand  that  he 
had  come  to  deem  so  characteristic  of  the  peerless  Isa 
bella  Thermor.  It  was  the  very  type  of  a  "  billet  doux" 
— certainly  as  far  as  mere  externals  went — though  the 
contents  were  practical  enough  in  all  but  the  eyes  of  an 
infatuated  lover,  for  any  purpose.  It  was  dated — 

"  THE  BLUE  CHAMBEE,  BIRK-BRAES,  four  o'clock. 
"  Mrs.  Thermor  begs  to  thank  Mr.  Rivers  for  the  kind 
expressions  of  his  solicitude,  and  to  assure  him  of  her 
improved  condition  and  perfect  return  to  her  ordinary 
frame  of  mind.  She  will  no  doubt  be  sufficiently  recov 
ered  to  receive  him  (en  tete-a"-tete '  to-morrow  during 
school  hours,  when  the  library  is  usually  vacant,  and  in 
trusion  improbable,  when  she  hopes  that  a  perfect  under- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  137 

standing  may  take  place  between  them.  Mrs.  Thermor 
sincerely  hopes  that  Mr.  Rivers  has  neither  suffered 
from  anxiety  on  her  account  nor  from  the  shock  of  the 
alarm,  which  his  firmness  prevented  from  becoming  an 
accident  of  a  very  serious  nature  to  his  companions. 
[Some  words  erased  here.]  A  spring  from  a  carriage 
under  full  headway  would  doubtless  have  been  fatal  to 
the  rash  friend,  who  can  never  forget  his  opportune 
interference." 

A  hundred  times  after  Rena  had  departed  with  a  mes 
sage  of  thanks  and  congratulation  to  her  mistress,  did 
the  elated  man  press  to  his  lips,  his  brow,  his  heart,  the 
little  cocked-hat  note  of  comfort  and  of  roseate  hue  and 
odor.  A  hundred  times  did  he  trace  the  graceful,  even 
lines,  and  each  time  derive  comfort  from  their  perusal. 

"  She  loves  me !  "  he  exclaimed  in  a  sort  of  delirium 
of  delight.  "She  loves  me!  Now,  welcome  danger, 
poverty;  nay,  death  itself,  since  I  have  known  this. 
Last  night!  Can  I  ever  forget  its  joy — its  ecstasy? 
Had  the  horses  dashed  to  pieces  at  that  moment,  we 
should  still  have  been  blessed  just  as  we  reclined  in  the 
shadow,  yielding  to  the  soft  spirit  of  delight  and  eternal 
union,  must,  under  the  circumstances,  have  sanctified 
our  earthly  affection.  Yes,  death  itself  would  have  been 
delectable." 

The  dinner  bell  rang  before  he  had  subdued  his 
ecstasy  sufficiently  to  change  his  blouse  for  his  only  coat, 
or  refresh  his  hands  and  face,  and  smooth  his  dishevelled 
hair.  He  did  these  things  hastily ;  stuffing  last  of  all  his 
precious  billet  doux  in  his  bosom,  next  to  his  sacred  seal 
ring,  and  to  the  rose-colored  flannel  undershirt,  his  sole 
coxcombery  of  attire. 


138  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OE, 

"It  matters  not  how  I  look  to-day,"  he  thought, 
"  since  she  will  not  be  there  to  see  me — that  curl  is  so 
refractory  though  that  it  gives  me  the  appearance  of  a 
feathered  Mercury,  and  my  hair  is,  I  believe,  my  weak 
ness,"  and  he  brushed  it  vigorously. 

He  was  not  a  very  strong  man,  as  we  have  seen : 
rather  pleasant  than  agreeable,  rather  good-looking  than 
handsome.  If  there  had  been  anything  very  positive 
about  him,  Mademoiselle  Minande  herself,  so  brave  and 
enduring  and  decided,  would  never  have  fallen  in  love 
with  him,  as  unfortunately  she  had  done.  These  two 
young  people  were  counterparts,  and  if  the  theory  of 
Miss  Sheppard  was  correct  (as  set  forth  in  her  airy  novel 
of  that  name),  were  essentially  fitted  for  one  another. 

On  the  contrary,  Mrs.  Thermor  adored  strength,  and 
it  was  the  gentle  exercise  of  it  on  the  occasion  of  the  run 
away  horses  that  had  so  far  conquered  her  on  the  pre 
ceding  evening,  as  to  bring  her  to  nestle  in  his  arms, 
whom  before  she  had  resolved  to  reject.  A  weakness  of 
which,  being  versatile  and  pliable,  she  was,  of  course,  by 
this  time  very  much  ashamed.  This  change  of  feeling  he 
did  not  know — could  not  suspect — for  her  note  seemed 
to  him  to  confirm  as  far  as  it  dared  all  she  had  permitted 
and  responded  to  him  in  the  silence  of  the  carriage,  when 
seated  by  her  side.  Heaven  itself  seemed  opening  to  his 
view.  There  are  many  kinds  of  drunkenness,  but  of  all 
others  for  sustaining  power  of  self-delusion,  commend  me 
to  that  of  the  infatuated  lover!  There  is  no  species  of 
arrogance  or  folly  or  heedlessnes*s  of  the  feelings  of  others 
that  it  does  not  engender,  and  no  absurdity  of  conduct 
that  it  does  not  superinduce  and  encourage.  The  very 
step  of  a  man  under  such  dominion  changes  its  character, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  139 

and  becomes  airy  and  conceited  and  fantastic,  and  the 
voice  is  often  altered  as  if  by  the  influence  of  wine,  so 
that  it  is  no  wonder  his  inamorata  is  so  frequently  dis 
gusted  by  the  proofs  of  her  adorer's  unfitness  to  bear 
prosperity,  and  revokes  the  dangerous  boon  that  upset 
his  reason,  upon  mature  consideration. 

It  was  in  some  such  mood  that  Mazeron  Rivers  en 
tered  the  dining-room  at  Birkbraes  on  that  day  when  for 
a  moment  in  the  sudden  shadow  he  failed  to  descry  the 
presence  of  his  divinity  at  the  head  of  her  own  table. 

The  reason  of  this  unexpected  effort  of  her  gracious- 
ness,  however,  became  very  apparent,  as  even  he  could 
not  fail  to  understand  (assume  to  himself  its  honor,  as  he 
tried  at  first  secretly  to  do),  \vhen  he  perceived  a  stranger 
at  her  right  hand,  and  Colonel  Kavanaugh  at  his  usual 
post,  quietly  taking  his  soup  at  the  foot  of  the  table. 
Mr.  Rivers  sunk  into  his  accustomed  chair  near  Miss 
Minande,  and  bowed  low  and  reverentially  to  Mrs. 
Thermor  as  soon  as  he  caught  her  eye ;  then  turning  to 
Miss  Minande  as  he  toyed  with  his  vermicelli  and  burn 
ished  spoon,  said  to  her  carelessly,  "  I  have  not  seen  you 
in  the  pleached  bower  to-day ;  where  have  you  kept 
yourself,  fair  Beatrice  ?  and  how  comes  on  the  romance  ? 
Have  you  finished  it  ?  " 

"Do  you  mean  that  of  Notre  Dame?"  she  asked  sig 
nificantly,  smiling  her  strange,  sweet,  bitter  smile  as  she 
glanced  at  Mrs.  Thermor,  "  if  so,  I  will  tell  you  it  is 
nearly  finished ;  I  am  deep  in  the  second  volume." 

"  Yes ;  I  do  mean  that,"  he  responded  with  asperity, 
for  he  was  as  quick  as  lightning  to  catch  a  look  or  a 
reference,  and  he  bent  above  his  plate  for  a  moment 
silently;  then  suddenly  raising  his  head,  or  jerking  it  up 


140  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

rather,  he  asked  sharply,  as  he  looked  her  in  the  face, 
"  Come,  you  who  are  clairvoyante  and  such  a  prophet, 
tell  me  how  you  predestine  the  conclusion  of  that  last 
volume,  which,  after  all,  you  know,  rests  with  the 
author." 

"  I  think  the  book  will  end  sadly,"  she  replied ;  "  but 
I  would  as  soon  listen  at  a  door  as  arrive  before  his 
given  time  at  an  author's  necessitated  finale,  so  I  turn 
no  leaves  to  discover  it.  After  all,  if  he  is  a  true  artist, 
the  end  cannot  be  compelled  even  by  his  own  volition 
against  what  truth  is  in  him,  but  must  be  consistent, 
faithful  to  nature,  and  consequently,  in  respect  to  the 
condition  of  things,  like  a  sum  accurately  added  up. 
From  this  conviction  I  predict  a  disappointment  to  him 
who  expects  a  fortunate  conclusion  in  the  romance  of 
'Notre  Dame.'" 

And  her  purple  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him  as  if  they 
seemed  two  spears  of  light,  that  entered  into  and  trans 
fixed  his  brain.  "  No  woman  ever  had  the  art  of  taking 
the  conceit  out  of  a  man  as  you  have,  Mademoiselle,"  he 
murmured  low ;  continuing,  as  before,  to  speak  in  French, 
as  he  added  with  a  sudden  nod  of  his  head  and  a  resump 
tion  of  his  masculine  superiority — soup  and  roll — "  mais 
enfin  nous  verrons."  To  his  surprise  she  answered  him 
in  pure  and  emphatic  English,  with  scarcely  a  trace  of 
accent  in  the  quotation  from  a  poem  which  she  had  made 

a  study : 

"  Then  cast  away  the  wprser  part  of  you, 
And  live  the  purer  with  the  better  half." 

"  I  felicitate  you  on  the  success  of  your  recent  read 
ings,  Mademoiselle  Minande,  and  the  appositeness  of 
their  application  as  well,"  he  said  bitterly.  "  When  did 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOK.  141 

you  take  to  Shakespeare — to  Hamlet  above  all? — usually 
a  sealed  book  to  foreigners." 

" Some  years  ago.  I  like  to  study  mania;  it  is  a  whim 
of  mine,  that  is  all.  Hamlet,  you  know,  was  the  prince 
of  maniacs,  if  one  at  all.  '  Pour  celaje  m'en  doute.'  He, 
it  is  acknowledged  by  many  critics,  I  believe,  assumed 
it  for  a  purpose;  but  how  thoroughly  he  understood  its 
phases!  He  even  turned  or  seemed  to  turn  against 
Ophelia,  you  remember,  in  order  to  convince  those  about 
him  of  his  insanity — the  woman  he  had  loved — still  loved 
so  well." 

"  He  never  loved  her  truly  or  he  could  not  have  for 
gotten  her,  even  in  his  bitter  grief  or  lunacy,  nor  could 
he  have  grieved  so  deeply  at  his  mother's  dereliction  as 
he  did  had  he  loved  her." 

"A  novel  criticism — a  novel  creed !  The  keepers  of 
lunatic  asylums  can  one  and  all  sustain  the  truth  of 
Shakespeare  on  this  subject.  A  mere  delusion,  however 
— unworthy  the  name  of  love — could  bear  no  part  in 
such  experience  of  hate." 

"I  understand  your  theory — feathers  float  off  on  the 
tide — jewels  sink  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  to  be 
thrown  up  again  by  the  first  earthquake  or  volcano  that 
convulses  the  system." 

"  I  like  your  simile,  and  in  turn  understand  you.  We 
shall  come  back  by-and-by  to  a  very  good  understand 
ing.  I  do  not  doubt,  Monsieur" — and  she  laughed 
silently  in  his  face — "  but  Colonel  Kavanaugh  addresses 
you,"  and  her  gravity  returned. 

"  If  you  can  spare  one  moment  from  your  interesting 
neighbor,  I  will  thank  you,  Mr.  Rivers,  to  pass  me  the 
decanter  of  Madeira,  first  filling  your  own  glass  and  hers, 


142  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

for  we  are  about  to  drink  a  toast,  I  believe,  with  us  a 
very  solemn  proceeding;"  and  he  gave  in  sonorous  tones: 

"THE  HEALTH  OF  MAJOR  RAVENSHAW," 

which  was  drunk  enthusiastically,  of  course,  by  the  whole 
company,  after  which  the  merry  cry  of  "a  speech,  a 
speech,"  from  the  lips  of  their  hostess,  brought  the  gen 
tleman  so  pledged  to  his  feet — in  his  six  feet  one  inch 
of  stately  and  graceful  manhood  and  self-possessed  em 
barrassment,  so  to  speak — for  he  was  both  easy  in  man 
ner  and  at  fault  for  a  few  moments,  as  far  as  words  went. 
He  began  at  last: 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  if  you  had  lived  as  long  as  I 
have  done,  where  speech  alone,  without  the  prefix  of  the 
indefinite  article,  was  considered  a  gift  of  supererogation, 
and  where  men  having  exhausted  each  other's  ideas,  were 
obliged  to  read  aloud  to  themselves  or  to  senseless  trees 
or  stones,  in  order  to  keep  from  forgetting  the  sounds  of 
their  native  tongue,  you  would  scarcely  marvel  at  my 
hesitation  in  addressing  you,  even  in  grateful  return  for 
your  best  of  all  good  wishes.  The  Seminoles  are  not  ac 
complished  as  conversationalists,  and  the  Everglades  form 
a  poor  theatre  for  an  orator,  as  well  as  an  indifferent 
school  for  manners,  nor  was  I  enabled  to  find  among 
them,  after  patient  and  diligent  search,  I  regret  to  ac 
knowledge,  the  enchanted  waters  of  eternal  youth,  of 
which  the  early  Spanish  visitors  taught  the  legend.  In 
deed,  in  pursuit  of  this  delusive  fountain  I  lost  what 
youth  and  health  I  had  carried  thither,  and  therefore  is 
your  pledge  doubly  delightful  to  me,  confident  as  I  am  in 
its  sincerity  and  the  power  of  good  wishes  from  the  pure 
and  perfect.  I  will  give  you  in  return, '  Our  native  land — 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  143 

may  it  never  be  less,  which  simply  means  an  eternal 
union  and  an  eternal  progress  for  America/  "  and  bowing 
reseated  himself  amidst  the  applause  of  the  guests  of 
Birk-braes,  to  fill  the  list  of  which  Mr.,  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Lindsay  had  that  day  returned. 

The  Major's  toast  was  drunk  with  renewed  enthusiasm, 
after  which,  during  the  flow  of  much  lively  conversation, 
especially  directed  to  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  the  guest 
"  par  excellence,"  as  it  seemed  that  day,  of  Birk-braes,  for 
as  such  its  mistress  evidently  distinguished  Major  Raven- 
shaw,  Mr.  Rivers  ventured  to  ask  of  his  next  neighbor 
in  courteous  tones,  "  Que  done  est  cette  nomme  La ! " 
bending  low  to  make  the  inquiry. 

"  Le  fiance  de  Madame  pentetre,"  she  said  mischiev 
ously,  without  dreaming  of  the  truth  of  her  remark,  for 
such  the  reader  remembers  he  once  had  been. 

"  Bah,  impossible !  Regardez  done  ces  cheveux ;  par- 
cemes  de  neig !  Get  homme  galant  a  cinquante  ans  s'il  a 
douze ! " 

"  It  est  bien  beau  cependant  avec  ses  cinquante  ans  ! " 
she  said,  smiling,  "  et  son  age  le  rend  tout  a  fait  con- 
venabie,  Madame ;  qui  n'est  plus  dans  sa  premiere  jeunes- 
setu  sais ! "  and  she  helped  herself  to  a  viz  de  veaer  be 
fore  her ;  "  en  vent  tu,"  she  demanded  of  her  neighbor. 

She  is  very  familiar,  thought  Mr.  Rivers,  and  suddenly, 
too.  Now  what  have  I  done  that  she  should  tu-tover 
me  in  this  fashion  ?  But  he  only  said,  "  Je  le  trouve 
bien  laid  moi ! "  for  at  that  moment  he  saw,  or  thought 
he  saw,  a  tender  passage  of  eyes  between  his  hostess 
and  her  martial  guest — a  devoted  look  on  his  part  and 
a  soft,  bewildering  expression  on  hers — which  he  so 
well  remembered  to  have  encountered  in  the  first 


144  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

days  of  their  acquaintance,  or  might  it  not  be  termed 
courtship  ? 

She  had  not  looked  at  him  in  that  way  for  some  time, 
and  he  was  fired  with  fierce  jealousy,  which  he  could  not 
conceal  from  his  companion.  Silent,  moody,  observant 
from  that  moment,  he  ceased  to  eat  or  drink ;  and  ex 
cusing  himself  abruptly,  on  the  plea  of  indisposition,  he 
rose  with  the  appearance  of  the  ices  and  fruits,  and  wan 
dered  forth  in  the  grounds. 

He  was  lying  under  a  great  catalpa  tree  in  full  and 
glorious  blossom,  when  he  heard  voices  approaching,  and 
in  a  few  moments  more  saw  Mrs.  Thermor  advancing 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  the  stately  Major  Ravenshaw. 
"  But  that  time  is  past,  Ernest,"  he  heard  her  say,  "  and 
you  must  never  refer  to  it  again ;  and  as  to  your  card,  I 
never  heard  of  it.  Of  course  I  believed  what  they  told 
me.  How  could  I  know  ?  Why  here  is  Mr.  Rivers,  I 
declare,  lying  in  ambush  I  do  believe  on  purpose  to 
spring  out  upon  us,  like  one  of  your  Seminole  braves. 
Mr.  Rivers,  come  join  us,  the  evening  air  is  so  delight 
ful.  We  are  on  our  way  to  the  beach." 

"  Excuse  me  this  evening,  Mrs.  Thermor,"  rising  and 
bowing  slightly  as  he  spoke.  His  hat  was  on  the  grass 
beneath  the  tree,  and  the  declining  sun  shone  over  and 
made  radiant  his  golden  brown  hair,  with  his  careless 
silken  curls.  He  looked  like  the  idle  dreamer  he  was, 
and  young  enough  in  that  rich  crimson  light  to  have 
passed  for  the  son  of  that  very  handsome  couple  that  had 
passed  before  him — that  is,  if  they  had  happened  to  have 
married,  as  do  too  many  of  our  citizens — hardly  out  of 
the  pale  of  college,  boyhood  and  school-girlhoodism. 
"  Excuse  me,  Mrs.  Thermor,  until  to-morrow,"  and  he 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  145 

looked  at  her  with  grave  significance.  "  We  shall  meet 
then  once  for  all,"  he  murmured. 

"  Then  good-evening,  Mr.  Rivers,  and  may  your  rev 
eries  be  pleasant  j "  and  she  passed  on,  having  entirely 
forgotten,  in  the  embarrassment  of  the  moment,  to  intro 
duce  the  gentlemen — still  unacquainted. 

"  Who  is  that  tragic  youth,"  asked  Major  Ravenshaw, 
after  they  had  gone  a  few  steps,  "  who  dares  to  make 
appointments  for  the  '  all  hail  to-morrow '  with  one  of 
earth's  sweetest  witches  ?  " 

"  It  was  a  great  oversight  in  me,  but  I  really  forgot  to 
make  you  acquainted  with  each  other.  He  will  think 
nothing  of  it,  however,  for  he  is  so  French ;  but  you ! " 

"Nor  I,  because  I  am  so  Indian,"  he  interrupted, 
laughing ;  "  but  you  have  not  answered  my  question — 
who  and  what  is  the  melo-dramatic  youth?"  and  he 
looked  at  her  sharply. 

"  Simply  an  artist  painting  my  picture  for  the  gallery 
of  my  cousin,  the  Countess  Cluche !  "  And  then  came 
the  whole  story  with  details  that  I  will  spare  my  already 
instructed  reader. 

"  The  Countess  Cluche !  or  rather  the  daughter  of  the 
count  of  that  name.  I  remember  to  have  seen  her  in 
Paris  ten  years  ago,  at  court  with  her  father,  after — after 
my  marriage  (since  my  wife's  death,  you  know,  I  re 
turned  to  Florida — always  a  refuge  in  despair  for  me). 
She  was  a  very  beautiful  woman,  as  I  remember  her, 
this  kinswoman  of  yours,  as  it  seems  she  turns  out  to  be 
— tall  and  dark,  but  clear  of  complexion  and  of  eye. 
There  was  an  abominable  man,  I  recollect,  said  to  be 
engaged  to  her,  who  followed  her  everywhere,  and  the 
report  was  that  she  detested  him,  but  was  compelled  to 
9 


146  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

receive  his  attentions.  Soon  afterwards  she  died,  some 
body  said,  and  I  saw  a  long  obituary  notice  of  her  in 
Galignani,  said  to  have  been  written  by  some  American." 

"You  are  precipitate,  Major  Ravenshaw,"  she  said. 
"  No,  you  have  it  all  wrong.  It  was  the  younger  sis 
ter,  a  very  plain  person,  who  died  in  the  convent ;  and 
after  that  the  man  you  allude  to  died  also — a  Count  Del- 
mar,  I  think — and  she  (my  cousin  Eugenie  I  mean)  de 
voted  herself  to  her  father,  who  was  perfectly  detestable 
and  exacting,,  and  some  said  mad,  and  very  cruel  to  her 
as  long  as  he  lived  (Mr.  Rivers  had  heard)  and  now  she 
enjoys  his  estate,  but  is  hopelessly  bent  on  celibacy,  and 
very  'devote/  as  the  French  call  it.  She  will  prob 
ably  be  here  in  September;  in  the  meantime  she  has 
written  to  me  and  sent  me  her  miniature,  an  old- 
fashioned  affair  which  you  shall  see." 

"  So  it  is  a  mere  interchange  of  feminine  pictures — 
and  the  sentimental  youth  is  the  medium !  Really, 
Isabella,  I  thought  he  looked  at  you  quite  daringly  as 
he  rose  from  the  grass.  I  felt  like  inflicting  my  cane 
upon  his  handsome  head — but  I  suppose  it  was  only  an 
artistic  stare — and  now  let  us  resume  the  thread  of  our 
discourse.  I  want  you  to  understand  about  that  visit. 
I  gave  the  card  to  Mr.  Thermor  himself;  he  must  have 
forgotten  to  hand  it  or  even  mention  it  to  you,  but  was 
it  not  strange  ?  " 

A  tide  of  crimson  flooded  her  face  and  neck.  "  He 
probably  wished  to  spare  me  useless  pain,"  she  mur 
mured,  "  for  he  knew  about  the  past,  Ernest.  He  always 
was  the  kindest,  most  considerate  of  men  ;  never  jealous 
at  all." 

"  But  it  was  not  just,  Isabella,  either  to  you  or  to  me," 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  147 

said  Major  Ravenshaw,  earnestly,  almost  passionately. 
"What  must  you  not  have  thought  after  meeting  me, 
too,  of  my  neglectful  levity ;  you,  the  woman  to  whom 
my  whole  youth  had  been  consecrated ;  for  it  was  ten 
years  after  your  marriage  before  I  ever  again  looked 
upon  the  face  of  society,  in  the  corroding  grief  conse 
quent  upon  my  bitter  disappointment.  I  ought  not  to 
have  been  made  to  seem  to  have  slighted  you,  even  by 
your  own  husband.  God  knows !  he  could  have  afforded 
to  be  generous,  for  he  had  my  heart's  best  treasure  in  his 
keeping.  It  was  I  that  was  beggared,  not  he." 

"But  you  were  married  at  that  very  time,  Major 
Ravenshaw,  and  to  a  woman  you  loved." 

"  Yes ;  but  it  was  a  mortification  and  a  bitterness  to 
me  that  you  never  noticed  my  call  even  by  a  visit  to  my 
wife.  You,  the  lady  of  my  early  choice — and  she  knew 
that  it  was  so,  for  I  told  her  every  thought  of  my  heart. 
I  had  no  concealments  from  her,  and  she  earnestly 
desired  to  see  and  know  you  for  my  sake.  She  was 
superior  to  ill-founded  jealousy,  and,  in  her  separate 
world,  ignorant  of  its  meaning,  indeed ;  and  she  knew 
she  was  first  in  my  affections  as  a  mere  matter  of  right ; 
but  I  had  told  her  my  story  before  our  marriage." 

"Then  you  were  truly  fond  of  one  another?"  she 
asked. 

"  We  should  have  been  hypocrites  and  dastards  in  the 
sight  of  God  had  we  not  been.  But  time,  that  had 
plucked  out  the  sting  of  my  early  disappointment,  has 
also  mellowed  the  sorrow  of  my  bereavement.  She  left 
me  childless  and  alone,  and  ten  years  more  in  the  ever 
glades  of  Florida  were  required  to  allay  the  pang  of  our 
parting.  Now  fresh  as  a  boy,  though  at  forty-seven 


148  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

years,  I  am  about  to  woo  another  wife,  and  win  her  if  I 
can.  None  other  than  yourself,  Isabella,  if  heaven  favor 
me  in  this  new  phase  of  feeling." 

She  replied  with  stateliness :  "  Remember  you  are  now 
to  me  as  a  stranger.  It  would  require  time,  reflection, 
consultation  with  friends,  an  accurate  study  of  you  and 
of  my  own  heart." 

"  How  long  do  you  demand  for  all  this  ? "  he  asked, 
suddenly  stopping  in  their  path,  and  confronting  her  a 
little  sternly;  "weeks — months — how  many,  Isabella?" 

"  Years,  perhaps,  Ernest." 

"  Years  !  We  have  them  not  to  waste.  Fair  as  you 
are  your  youth  is  fleeting  fast,  and  mine  is  gone,  as  these 
whitening  hairs  proclaim,"  and  he  touched  his  lofty  crest 
with  his  brown  and  sinewy  hand,  while  his  dark  eyes 
flashed  fire  and  his  lips  quivered  with  emotion. 

"  When  the  string  is  loosed  the  bow  flies  back  to  its 
old  position,  and  so  without  an  effort  of  my  being,  by 
the  mere  unstringing  of  my  bow  of  life — through  the 
death  of  her  I  loved — I  am  just  where  my  youth  left  me 
— yours  and  yours  alone;  no  other  woman  has  ever 
received  even  my  passing  homage,  save  the  mute  wife  I 
lost,  and  circumstances  controlled  me  there.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  our  Florida  commander,  who  was  killed 
in  the  swamps  by  Indians — the  man  to  whose  post  I 
succeeded  immediately — and  this  very  fact  made  me  feel 
that  I  ought  to  replace  his  loss  to  his  child.  The  girl 
was  motherless  and  fatherless,  and  poor  to  indigence,  as 
I  then  believed,  though  beautiful  and  gentle  as  an  angel ; 
and  the  seal  of  silence  was  set  forever  on  her  ear  and  lip 
by  the  fiat  of  her  Creator.  I  pitied,  loved,  won,  and 
married  her,  but  consumption  had  set  its  fangs  on  her 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  ]49 

* 

young  life,  and  she  perished  from  my  side.  This  was 
years  ago,  Isabella,  as  I  have  said,  and  you  were  a  mar 
ried  woman,  whom  to  seek  with  lover's  vows  were  to 
dishonor.  You  were  lost  to  me,  as  I  then  thought,  for 
ever.  But  the  other  day,  when  your  brave  boy  told  me, 
at  West  Point,  that  you  were  at  last  a  widow,  I  lost  no 
time  in  coming  to  your  house,  with  but  one  ambition. 
You  are  rich,  they  say,  Isabella ;  but  my  revenue  from 
one  silver  mine  exceeds  yours  twofold,  and  this  is  but 
one  source  of  wealth  to  me — one  tithe  of  my  possessions. 
I  do  not  say  this  to  influence  you,  for  I  know  of  old 
your  noble  soul ;  but  I  do  wish  that  you  should  under 
stand  how  little  I  am  governed  in  seeking  your  hand  by 
a  desire  to  possess  your  fortune.  Give  it  to  whom  you 
will — leave  all — but  come  with  me ! "  and  he  seized  her 
hand. 

"  Whither  would  you  take  me,  Major  Ravenshaw?" 
she  said,  gently  withdrawing  her  fingers  from  his  grasp. 

"  Wherever  it  pleases  you  best  to  go ;  to  the  cities  of 
Europe  or  those  of  our  own  country.  Your  pretty 
country-seat  will  serve  as  a  resource ;  but  life  is  passing, 
and  we  have  both  lived  too  long  in  seclusion.  Let  us 
see  the  world." 

"  I  will  consult  with  Colonel  Kavanaugh,"  she  said, 
faintly.  "  I  will  give  you  an  answer  in  a  fortnight.  I 
am  then  to  have  a  masked  party  for  my  niece  (or  rather, 
Mr.  Thermor's),  Rose  Blamire — an  Oriental  aifair,  from 
'  Lai  la  Rookh '  chiefly,  but  Byron's  heroes  and  heroines 
are  to  have  a  place.  Come  as  Conrad ;  you  will  look  so 
handsome  in  that  dress,  and  I  will  be  " — she  hesitated. 

"  Medbra,  not  Gulnare,"  and  he  shuddered  at  the 
name  last  spoken.  "  It  is  a  good  omen.  I  shall  surely 


150  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

come,  attired  as  you  desire,  but  in  return  remember  what 
character  I  have  assigned  to  you." 

"  But  I  have  no  intention  of  masking  at  all." 

"  I  like  that  best  of  all ;  then  I,  too,  will  be  a  '  looker 
on'  in  your  little  'Vienna.5  The  truth  is,  Isabella,  lovely 
matrons  like  yourself  and  grave  and  reverend  signors 
like  me  should  stand  on  their  dignity.  Let  the  young 
assume  disguises.  There  is  your  little  artist  who  would 
make  a  good  troubadour — but  I  forget;  this  is  an 
Oriental  masque." 

"  I  have  already  appointed  him  as  troubadour  to  Lalla 
Rookh.  You  remember  the  poet,  Prince  Feramorz — he 
was  an  Oriental  minstrel." 

"  Yes,  I  remember.  And  who  is  to  be  Azim  in  the 
Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorasan  ?  Who  Selim  in  the  Light 
of  the  Harem  ?  "Who  Hafez  in  the  Fire  Worshippers  ? 
the  finest,  I  believe,  of  all  those  poems.  Do  you  remem 
ber  those  lines,  Isabella?"  And  he  recited  in  fervent 
and  well-modulated  tones,  gazing  upon  her  face  as  he  did 
so,  the  following  passage : 

"  Oft  in  our  fairy  wanderings, 
I've  wished  that  little  isle  had  wings, 
And  we  within  its  fairy  bowers, 

Were  wafted  off  to  seas  unknown, 
Where  not  a  pulse  should  beat  but  ours, 

And  we  might  live,  love,  die  alone, 
Far  from  the  cruel  and  the  cold, 

Where  the  bright  eyes  of  angels  only 
Should  come  around  us  to  behold 

A  paradise  so  pure  and  lonely." 

"Would  this  be  world  enough  for  thee?"  she  asked, 
completely  ignoring  his  quotation.  "  You  seem  to  have 
all  the  characters  at  your  fingers'  ends ;  you  must  have 
heard  of  our  festival  and  hunted  them  up  for  the  occa 


sion." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  1'51 

"Not  so;  I  never  heard  a  syllable  about  it;  how 
should  I?  But  in  that  solitude  of  mine  I  learned  to 
make  friends  of  books,  and  poets  above  all  other  writers. 
They  condense  matters — concentrate,  embalm  them — 
make  them  compact  and  portable.  It  is  easy  to  remember 
oracles  and  aphorisms  in  verse  ;  they  seize  upon  the  ear  as 
well  as  fancy,  and  make  a  perpetual  music  in  the  mind." 

"I  have  not  improved  my  life  as  you  have  done, 
Ernest ;  I  know  very  little  of  these  poems  you  adore." 

"  Why  need  you  know  of  them  ?"  he  asked.  "Are 
you  not  one  of  them — a  poem  in  your  own  person — per 
fect,  outspoken,  splendid  ?  I  would  not  love  you  as  I  do 
were  you  not  the  same  sweet,  artless  being — the  charmer 
of  my  youth,  I  would  not  love  you  other  than  you  are — 
my  love,  my  queen,  my  peerless  Isabella ;"  and  he  auda 
ciously  kissed  her  hand. 

"  By  Jove !  here  comes  our  little  Bohemian  again.  I 
do  believe  he  is  pursuing  us.  Let  me  at  him,"  and  he 
laid  his  hand  on  his  sword-cane  menacingly,  yet  laughed 
at  the  same  time,  so  that  the  action  seemed  simply  con 
temptuous — not  belligerent  at  all — and  as  such  Mazeron 
Rivers  felt  it,  scarce  knowing  why  he  did  so,  for  he  had 
not  heard  the  accompanying  words,  nor  witnessed  the  act 
of  gallantry  that  preceded  them. 

With  a  slight  salutation  he  passed  on  in  the  direction 
of  the  garden — yet  even  in  the  gathering  twilight  he 
had  noticed,  with  the  quickness  native  to  him,  and  which 
belongs  by  right  to  lovers — the  downcast  eyelid  of  Mrs. 
Thermor,  and  her  uncertain  gait,  so  diiferent  from  her 
usual  mien  of  pride  and  grace. 

"There  is  something  mysterious  about  all  this,"  he 
murmured  as  he  went,  "and  perhaps  Mademoiselle  is 


152  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

right  in  her  conjecture — yet  no — it  cannot  be !  She  is 
too  pure,  too  true  for  that.  Was  it  not  last  night  that 
we  interchanged  tacit'  vows,  such  as  women  value  and 
consider  far  more  binding  than  myriads  of  words  ?  Is 
not  her  kiss  still  warm  upon  my  lips  ?  and  the  clasp  of 
that  soft  hand,  is  it  not  still  thrilling  my  own?  She 
loves  me — me  only — and  this  man  is  only  a  clamorous 
creditor,  or  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Thermor's,  whose 
sacred  claims  she  must  acknowledge  before  her  daughter* 
and  Colonel  Kavanaugh.  He  said  something,  I  remem 
ber,  about  going  away  very  soon — this  doughty  knight 
of  hers — and  she  is  no  doubt  compelled  to  these  atten 
tions  by  her  noble  estimate  of  hospitality.  But  to-mor 
row  all  will  be  explained."  And  the  anticipation  of  that 
sweet  promised  interview  in  the  "  library  during  school 
hours  " — an  allusion  in  her  note  he  could  not  doubt  that 
pointed  to  the  quiet  vigilance  and  almost  ubiquitous 
presence  of  Mademoiselle — and  which  was  calculated  to 
reassure  him  as  to  the  desire  for  privacy  that  he  had 
expressed  to  sustain  his  spirit  and  give  buoyancy  to  his 
step. 

In  the  garden  he  saw  Mademoiselle  Minande  flitting 
like  a  night  moth  among  the  flowers — but  she  did  not 
come  to  meet  him,  nor  did  he  pursue  her  retreating  steps. 
It  seemed  a  mutual  avoidance,  though  on  very  different 
principles.  The  drawing-room  was  filled  with  company 
that  evening — some  neighbors  had  driven  over  to  Birk- 
braes  after  sunset,  to  return  by  moonlight,  and  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor  was  more  than  usually  beautiful  in  a  rose-colored 
silk  of  richest  fabric,  relieved  by  fine  laces  and  with  a 
crown  of  natural  flowers  in  her  hair.  Miss  Lindsay  was 
also  richly  dressed,  and  the  room  was  redolent  with  flow- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  153 

ers  and  lovely  ladies,  and  bright  with  wax  lights  and 
lamps ;  waiters  coming  and  going  with  ices  and  wines  in 
crystal  or  silver  salvers  ;  music,  conversation,  and  all  the 
externes  of  refined  society. 

Miss  Minande  sat  in  one  corner  with  her  eternal  crochet- 
work,  enjoying  the  scene  very  much,  yet  apparently  self- 
absorbed  and  unconscious.  She  wore  a  dress  of  sheer 
linen  lawn,  delicate  and  white  as  drifted  snow,  trimmed 
with  Valenciennes  lace,  and  closed  at  the  throat  and  wrists 
in  the  simplest  fashion.  An  apron  of  deep  blue  silk  with 
a  pointed  stomacher,  which  defined  her  exquisite  waist 
and  bust  very  perfectly,  yet  modestly,  was  the  badge  of 
her  order  that  marred  the  otherwise  aristocratic  texture 
and  trimming  of  her  simple  costume.  Her  perfect  hands 
were  gloveless,  her  small  feet  encased  in  black  satin  slip 
pers,  from  the  Rue  Castiglione,  that  paradise  of  shoe 
makers;  and  the  handkerchief  that  peeped  from  her 
apron-pocket  was  a  marvel  of  fineness  and  simplicity, 
united  in  one  matchless  web.  She  had  ventured  to  place 
a  bunch  of  lilies  of  the  valley  in  her  bosom,  and  a  half- 
blown  moss-rose  in  her  twisted  hair,  confined  by  a  string 
of  wax-beads,  no  doubt,  though  very  like  pearls,  that  con 
trasted  favorably  with  its  jetty  hue. 

"  Who  is  that  pretty,  delicate  looking  creature  ?  "  asked 
Major  Ravenshaw  of  his  hostess  as  they  stood  together  in 
the  embrasure  of  a  window — she  toying  with  her  fan  and 
totally  occupied  with  herself — and  he  gazing  about  him 
freely  in  the  intervals  of  their  conversation. 

"A  Mademoiselle  Minande,  the  governess  my  cousin, 
the  Countess  Cluche,  you  know,  sent  me  for  Eugenie. 
She  is  very  accomplished." 

"Ah,  a  governess  as  well  as  an  artist — and  so  refined 
both  in  appearance.  You  are  indeed  fortunate." 


154          A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

"A  very  simple  little  person  this,  however,  as  far  as 
manner  goes ;  she  has  no  idea  of  society  at  all,  and  can 
not  teach  'aplomb'  at  all,  so  necessary  to  a  belle.  She  is 
always  the  same." 

"So  few  can  afford  to  be  strictly  natural,"  he  rejoined, 
"  that  I  have  come  to  look  upon  it  as  a  test  of  good-breed 
ing  to  dare  to  be  one's  self.  I  noticed  her  at  table  to-day, 
she  eats  well  and  seems  to  be  high-bred." 

"She  is  scarcely  that,  but  knows  very  well  how  to  hanr 
die  her  knife  and  fork,  of  course,  having  lived  at  Les 
Hirondelles.'  My  cousin  is,  I  am  told,  a  polished  lady, 
and  the  Count,  her  father,  I  have  heard  my  father  say, 
was  the  most  fastidious  of  men." 

"Selfish  people  are  usually  fastidious,"  he  answered 
vaguely,  still  bending  his  eyes  on  the  little  governess ; 
"but  she  is  lady-like,  which  I  take  it  means  something 
better  and  very  different." 

"  Oh,  very ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  that ;  a  little 
too  pragmatical,  however,  to  be  considered  elegant  at  all." 

"There  goes  your  Bohemian,  I  see,  straight  to  her 
corner ;  what  a  suitable  pair  they  seem  !  He  really  is  a 
very  good-looking  fellow,  and  has  good  manners ;  he 
knows  how  to  bow  'par  example;'"  and  the  Major 
laughed  merrily. 

"Yes,  he  bows  gracefully  and  talks  agreeably,  too; 
but  I  do  not  think  he  has  the  slightest  fancy  for  Madem 
oiselle  Minande ;  that  is,  as  far  as  I  can  judge — not  the 
slightest." 

She  spoke  so  eagerly  that  he  felt  amazed,  and  hastened 
to  say :  "  Nor  she  for  him,  I  should  suppose,  from  the 
cool  unconcern  of  her  reception.  I  suppose  the  princi 
pal  bond  of  union  between  them  is  the  French  tongue, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON".  155 

which  I  observed  they  spoke  exclusively  at  table.  One 
can  see  from  the  motion  of  her  lips  that  it  is  not  English 
they  are  framing,  even  at  this  distance." 

"  What  a  detective  you  would  make,  to  be  sure,"  she 
said,  smiling ;  "  are  you  in  the  habit  of  observing  so 
closely  ?"  and  it  was  not  without  a  sinking  of  the  heart 
that  she  asked  the  question,  for  the  mastery  of  this  man 
was  already  upon  her.  Yet  resolve  as  she  would,  it  was 
inexpressibly  bitter  to  Mrs.  Thermor  to  be  obliged  to 
stand  under  the  sovereign  spell  of  Major  Ravenshaw,  and 
witness  that  distant,  unrestrained  intercourse — that  thinly 
veiled  flirtation. 

Miss  Lindsay  approached  them  at  this  moment,  with  a 
report  of  what  was  transpiring  in  the  gay  and  busy- 
throng  of  which  they  made  no  part,  standing  as  they  did 
on  the  elevated  platform  of  the  broad  bay  window,  stately 
and  solitary,  not  through  choice  so  much  on  the  part  of 
the  lady  as  a  want  of  power  to  refuse  the  request  of  the 
gentleman. 

"  Mr.  Connon  says  you  look  like  a  king  and  queen 
giving  audience,"  whispered  the  gay  girl  to  Mrs.  Ther 
mor,  quite  loud  enough  for  both  to  hear ;  "  and  that  we 
never  saw  such  a  well-matched  couple.  Then  Aunt  Con 
stance  replied  that  it  was  quite  an  old  affair,  and  sighed 
as  she  said  in  her  sentimental  way,  you  know,  Mrs.  Ther 
mor:  'But  broken  links  may  still  be  clasped  again.'" 

"  I  suppose  she  lives  in  such  hopes,"  said  Mrs.  Ther 
mor,  a  little  tartly  for  her,  for  the  story  of  Miss  Lind 
say's  most  unfortunate  engagement  and  its  rupture  was 
no  secret  to  her  friends.  "As  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
however,  Clara,  rest  assured  there  are  no  broken  links  to 
clasp.  Major  Ravenshaw  is  a  widower,  which  word  in- 


156  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OK, 

eludes  every  obstacle  in  my  estimation,  and  besides  that 
you  must  acknowledge,  my  dear — for  candor  is  your 
forte — he  is  rather  too  old  for  me,  at  least  looks  so." 

She  had  bent  low  to  whisper  the  last  half  ironical  words 
behind  her  fan,  though  with  a  heightened  color  that  indi 
cated  emotion  of  some  sort  to  the  quick  eye  of  her  com 
panion,  who  said  nervously,  "What  conspiracy  is  this, 
fair  ladies,  you  are  entering  into  against  my  peace? 
Come,  I  insist  on  a  revelation." 

"Then  Mrs.  Thermor  must  make  it,"  said  Miss  Lind 
say,  turning  off.  "Oh!  there  very  opportunely  comes 
Mr.  Rivers.  I  will  go  now  and  walk  up  and  down  the 
umbra  with  him  for  a  few  minutes  and  leave  you  to  your 
explanation.  I  do  so  want  a  snuff  of  the  mild  May  air. 
Do  you  smell  the  crab-apples,  Mr.  Rivers?"  as  she  ad 
vanced  to  intercept  him.  "Are  they  not  delicious? 
Come,  take  a  turn  on  the  porch,  'au  clair  de  la  lune,'  as 
your  French  song  says.  One  can  take  these  liberties, 
you  know,  with  you — an  engaged  man  " — she  said,  laugh 
ing,  and  looking  back  as  she  went  at  Mrs.  Thermor, 
whose  very  lips  turned  pale  as  she  clenched  her  fan. 

It  was  a  Parthian  dart  that  rankled,  and  when  she 
spoke  again  her  voice  was  changed  and  trembled  in  spite 
of  herself;  nor  did  she  long  continue  in  the  embrasure. 

It  was  agreed  that  night  between  Major  Ravenshaw 
and  herself  that  nothing  more  should  be  said  between 
them  or  to  others,  with  one  exception,  on  the  subject  of 
their  courtship  until  he  should  return  to  take  part  in,  or 
be  a  spectator,  as  he  pleased,  of  the  "Feast  of  Roses." 
She  promised  then  to  give  him  a  decided  answer,  which, 
he  doubted  not  for  a  moment,  would  be  favorable,  because 
of  the  proposed  delay ;  for  in  his  straightforward  way  he 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  157 

thought :  "  Why  not  else  refuse  me  instantly  ?  It  is  a 
part  of  her  idea  of  dignity,  and  I  like  it,"  he  continued 
to  himself  as  they  left  the  embrasure,  arm  in  arm,  to 
solicit  music  from  Mademoiselle  Minande,  whose  gifts  of 
course  belonged  to  her  employer  for  the  time  being,  and 
reflected  honor  on  her  taste  and  discrimination;  "be 
sides,"  he  continued,  musingly,  "she  will  have  to  seem  to 
consult  old  crusty  Kavanaugh,  if  only  in  compliance  with 
her  husband's  absurd  will,  and  break  it  to  the  boys  and 
the  little  girl,  and  even  the  domestics.  Slaves  are  tyrants 
about  these  matters  and  expect  to  be  considered  and  con 
sulted  even.  This  will  all  be  eifected  in  my  absence.  I 
cannot  doubt  for  a  moment  that  her  heart  is  mine,  has 
ever  been,  as  mine  is  and  ever  has  been  hers — that  is  the 
best  part  of  it.  Of  course  I  loved  and  cherished  my 
poor  Minna,  but  there  was  no  passion  there,  and  its  re 
awakening  makes  me  young  again."  By  this  time  they 
had  reached  Miss  Minande.  Major  Ravenshaw  had  been 
introduced  to  the  governess,  whom  he  saluted  with  a  pro 
found  and  serious  bow.  A  pretty  woman  was  to  him  a 
princess  and  a  prize,  whether  she  wore  jewels  or  affected 
wax-beads,  and  he  found  Mademoiselle  Minande  enchant 
ing  when  she  looked  up  and  smiled  and  showed  her 
pearly  teeth  and  purple  eyes,  then  pensively  laying  down 
her  crochet-work,  took  his  disengaged  arm,  which,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Thermor  clung  to  the  other 
and  averted  her  face,  he  would  persist  in  offering  the 
obliging  young  musician. 

"  II  est  gentil  homme ;"  she  thought,  "  et  beau  comme 
un  Prince.  II  est  trop  noble  pour  elle,  mais  cependant 
ils  ont  lair  d'etre  fait  Fun  pour  Fantre ;"  and  she  went 
meekly  to  the  piano  and  her  allotted  task. 


158  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;   OR, 

Then  came  a  repetition  of  that  wondrous  performance, 
that  had  thrilled  all  hearts  before,  and  the  intense  silence 
of  her  auditors  gave  proof  of  their  appreciation. 

Even  Rivers  and  Clara  Lindsay  came  in  from  the 
piazza  to  listen,  still  standing  arm-in-arm  in  the  door 
way  when  the  music  was  over,  a  situation  one  of  them 
found  pleasant. 

"  Why  don't  you  marry  that  girl  and  make  a  fortune 
out  of  her  gifts  and  yours  combined?"  said  the  imperti 
nent  young  belle — who  had  chosen  to  stroll  with  the 
artist,  whose  society  she  enjoyed,  rather  than  be  con 
demned  to  the  society  of  the  indigenous  youth  of  the  Bay 
settlement — having  failed  to  attract  Major  Ravenshaw 
from  his  allegiance,  as  she  had  desired  to  do,  and  despairing 
of  better  entertainment.  "Now  don't  be  vexed;  come, 
tell  me  frankly  the  reason  why.  I  am  one  of  your  de 
fenders  and  ask  from  interest  and  not  from  curiosity." 

"  For  two  reasons,"  he  replied  mildly.  "  One  of  these 
is,  I  do  not  love  Minande;  another  is,  she  does  not  love 
me,"  and  he  bowed  and  smiled. 

"  What  absurd  nonsensical  passions  you  artistic  people 
can  get  up  whenever  you  desire!  It  is  not  involuntarily 
like  poor  common-place  folks,  who  'grow'  like  Topsy, 
unconscious  of  their  parentage ! " 

"  Grant  your  premises ;  one  may  not  wish  to  light  an 
altar  on  which  there  are  sorry  offerings  to  lay — which 
would  soon  burn  down  to  a  very  small  pinch  of  ashes." 

"You  prefer  human  sacrifices?"  she  said,  looking  at 
him  steadily ;  "  you  burn  your  own  heart  instead,  before 
a  priestess  merciless  as  fate." 

"  One  cannot  tell  whether  a  sacrifice  will  be  propitious 
or  not,  until  the  savor  thereof  climbs  to  the  nostril  of  the 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  159 

tutelary  deity,"  he  said  lightly ;  yet  with  a  load  of  lead 
lying  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  in  the  depths  of  which 
he  wished  his  fair  tormentor  was  deposited,  under  Oman's 
green  waters,  along  with  that  everlasting  "Araby's 
daughter,"  she  was  so  fond  of,  a  wail  that  always  re 
minded  him  of  the  possible  singing  of  the  white  cat  in 
the  fairy  tale,  before  she  regained  her  right  to  woman's 
estate !  accompanied  as  these  were,  according  to  the 
chronicler,  by  ell-like  twanging  of  her  little  golden  harp 
or  guitar,  when  the  exiled  prince  came  dog-seeking  to 
her  secluded  castle.  Very  absurd  thoughts  often  dart 
through  our  wretched  brains,  and  this  surely  was  one  of 
them.  But  he  was  not  yet  suffered  to  shake  off  his  tor 
turer  (for  this  word  beseemed  her  best — beautiful  as  she 
was  in  her  snowy  scarf  and  lustrous  lilac  grenadine — 
on  this  trying  occasion). 

"  Mr.  Rivers,  which  do  you  think  is  most  absurd,  for 
an  old  woman  to  marry  a  young  man,  or  for  a  young 
man  to  wed  with  an  antique  simpleton?"  she  asked,  mis 
chievously.  "It  is  solely  a  social  problem — which  I 
propose  for  the  benefit  of  society — that  has  puzzled  me 
not  a  little  lately." 

You  may  be  sure,  indignant  reader,  that  Gertrude 
Lindsay,  with  all  her  innocent  naivete,  had  made  her  own 
observations  during  her  sister's  absence,  and  reported  to 
that  fair  gossip,  on  her  return,  accordingly ;  of  which 
reports  these  questions  were  but  a  compendium. 

"  I  am  sure,  Miss  Lindsay,  I  never  gave  the  subject 
two  thoughts ;  you  —  you  must  excuse  me,"  and  he 
groaned  inwardly. 

"  Oh,  certainly,  you  are  very  excusable  under  the  cir 
cumstances.  By-the-by,  what  a  noble-looking  couple 


160  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR. 

Mrs.  Thermor  and  Major  Ravenshaw  would  make  —  I 
mean  as  man  and  wife,  of  course." 

It  amused  her  to  feel  the  artist's  arm  tremble,  here,  or 
twitch  rather  nervously,  but  she  pursued  her  subject 
ruthlessly,  for  she  had  her  share  of  suffering. 

"You  know  there  was  an  old  love-affair  between 
them ;  but  they  were  poor,  and  both  married  for  money. 
Now  that  they  are  old  and  rich,  it  is  so  romantic  to  see 
them  drawing  near  again  to  one  another,  for  their  affec 
tion  was  undisputed,  although  they  so  wisely  preferred 
plenty  apart  to  poverty  together.  Aunt  Constance,  who 
has  always  been  intimate  with  Mrs.  Thermor,  knows  all 
this  to  be  true,  and  is  as  deeply  interested  in  their  recon 
ciliation  as  if  it  were  her  own  affair. 

"  Poor  thing !  no  such  good  luck  awaits  her,  I  fear. 
But  I  am  really  afraid  I  bore  you.  The  matter  under 
discussion  can  afford  you  very  little  interest,  indeed  !" 

"  On  the  contrary,  the  deepest ;  pray  proceed.  I,  like 
your  Aunt  Constance,  almost  identify  myself  with  this 
romance.  Imagination  lends  this  power  in  compensa 
tion  for  much  harassment,  you  know,  to  her  votaries;  so 
tell  me  all  you  know ;  tell  me  everything." 

She  was  absolutely  frightened  by  the  calm,  locked-look 
of  his  features,  by  the  husky  composure  of  his  voice,  and 
a  certain  hardness  about  it  in  utter  discord  with  his 
words,  as  though  he  had  just  come  out  of  a  bitter  De 
cember  blast,  which  had  pierced  to  his  vitals.  I  believe 
we  all  know  that  altered  tone  of  voice.  As  she  accident 
ally  touched  his  hand  she  found  it  icy  cold.  She  had 
not  deemed  such  emotion  possible  from  such  a  cause; 
having  looked  on  his  love  pretensions  hitherto  as  entirely 
mercenary,  and  Mrs.  Thermor  merely  as  a  flattered 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  161 

pass6,  though  still  pretty   coquette,  who  had   partially 
compromised  herself  through  vanity  alone. 

Partly  through  good-will  toward  the  young  artist — so 
soon  she  saw  to  be  victimized — and  partly  through  the 
womanly  instinct  that  so  often  seeks  to  foil  the  coquetry 
of  a  sister  sibyl,  she  had  ventured  to  hint,  it  must  be 
confessed,  rather  broadly,  at  her  convictions,  and  so  save 
him,  if  possible,  from  the  humiliation  and  Mrs.  Thermor 
the  triumph  in  store  for  both,  when  his  passion,  if  such 
it  were,  should  be  disclosed ;  but  she  knew  now  that  she 
had  gone  a  step  too  far,  even  for  her  own  good,  and  sus 
pected  that  she  had  spoken  too  late.  These  thoughts,  of 
course,  flashed  through  her  mind  much  more  rapidly  than 
I  could  write  them  ;  and  with  the  reflection,  "  Can  it  be 
possible,  after  all,  that  he  really  loves  her?"  she  has 
tened  to  soften  the  impression  she  had  made,  shocked  at 
her  own  impudence  no  less  than  amazed  and  distressed 
at  his  emotional  agitation. 

"  The  fact  is  there  is  very  little  more  to  tell,"  she  had 
replied  to  his  appeal  for  all  she  knew,  "  and  all  this  is 
problematical — of  course  I  mean  Aunt  Constance's  idea 
that  they  will  be  married.  He  does  not  look  much  like 
a  marrying  man.  His  wife  was  deaf  and  dumb,  and  I 
suppose  he  could  never  bear  with  another.  She  died  of 
consumption  two  years  after  their  marriage,  and  left  him 
unexpectedly  very  rich.  It  was  some  old  mine,  I  be 
lieve.  I  suppose  he  will  select  a  young  and  beautiful 
girl  if  he  married  at  all,"  bridling  as  she  spoke,  "men 
of  that  age  always  do.  It  is  one  of  the  infatuations  that 
precedes  dotage." 

"He  seems  much  attracted  by  Mademoiselle  Minande," 
said  Rivers,  abstractedly. 
10 


A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

"  I  hope  that  he  will  make  her  an  offer.  She  is  so 
good — and  so  unhappy." 

"  Oh,  do  you  think  so  ?  I  think  I  never  saw  a  hap 
pier  or  more  industrious  being ;  as  to  her  goodness,  we 
can  know  nothing  at  all  of  that.  She  puts  us  all  to 
shame,  though,  by  her  accomplishments.  Then  she 
knows  so  much,  her  mind  is  a  perfect  bee-hive  of  golden 
stores,  and  she  has  them  all  in  order,  honey  and  wax  di 
vided  and  all  in  little  cells  just  ready  for  use,  yet  she 
does  not  seem  pedantic." 

"  Yes,  that  is  truly  the  order  of  her  mind,  which  is 
rare  for  a  person  of  her  genius." 

"  Oh,  as  for  that,  genius  is  another  thing ;  you,  ( par 
example,'  have  genius,  hers  is  mere  ability." 

"Quite  the  reverse,  Miss  Lindsay,  but  I  will  not 
argue  against  myself,  even  for  the  sake  of  justice.  Be 
lieve  me  a  genius  if  you  can  and  will.  I  unfortunately 
cannot  share  your  conviction." 

"You  are  too  modest,  too  humble — I  have  always 
thought  so.  You  will  never  succeed  in  that  way,  Mr. 
Rivers ;  you  must  push  your  way,  insist,  strive.  Even 
in  love,  you  know,  your  timid  men  are  always  unsuccess 
ful.  Now,  look  at  Major  Ravenshaw,  just  taking  us  all 
by  storm,  the  beautiful  widow  as  well !  There  is  not  a 
woman  in  the  parlor  who  would  not  feel  honored  by  one 
of  his  lordly  smiles,  or  the  dropping  of  his  handkerchief, 
and  Mrs.  Thermor  feels  already  for  the  first  time  that 
she  has  found  her  master." 

"By  heavens!  if  I  thought  so,"  suddenly  burst  out 
poor  Rivers — to  be  silent  the  next  moment — in  the  ut 
most  confusion,  which  condition  of  things  excited  even 
Miss  Lindsay's  pity,  for,  laying  her  finger  lightly  on  her 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  163 

lip,  as  if  both  a  warning  to  him  to  be  discreet  and  a 
pledge  of  her  own  discretion,  she  suddenly  dropped  his 
arm  and  hastened  away,  feigning  to  have  received  some 
mystic  signal  from  her  mother  across  the  room.  Turning 
on  his  heel  in  the  doorway,  standing  in  which  she  had 
left  him,  Mazeron  Rivers  plunged  impetuously  into  the 
outer  shadow. 

A  little  sealed  note  lay  on  the  table  directed  in  the 
well-known  hand  of  Miss  Minande.  It  contained  a  few 
lines  only,  and  enclosed  a  ring  composed  of  two  twisted 
enamelled  serpents,  which  she  stated  had  been  sent  to  her 
by  her  friend,  Madame  Burgenheim,  to  deliver  to  him 
on  the  part  of  a  young  lady  once  an  acquaintance  of  his, 
who  begged  in  this  way  to  release  him  from  an  engage 
ment  made  under  peculiar  circumstances,  now  rendered 
impossible  of  fulfilment  on  both  sides,  and  demanding 
back,  through  the  agency  of  Miss  Minande,  a  certain 
opal  ring  which  she  had  given  him  in  exchange  of 
troth  plight.  Probably  that  Monsieur  wears,  was  added. 

No  reasons  for  this  demand  and  restitution  were  as 
signed,  and  he  threw  by  the  note  with  a  feeling  of  weari 
ness  and  impatience  which  gave  no  impulse  to  conjecture. 
He  felt  it,  indeed,  to  be  rather  a  relief  to  be  done  alto 
gether  with  the  past,  though  he  had  long  ceased  to  look 
upon  it  seriously  at  all,  and  hoped  he  would  not  forget 
to  hand  to  Mademoiselle  Minande  the  opal  ring  on  the 
morrow,  so  fruitful  of  event  to  him.  But  through  the 
watches  of  that  sleepless  night,  the  words  of  Clara  Lind 
say  continued  to  recur  to  his  ear;  and  when  he  slept 
towards  daylight,  it  was  to  dream  that  he  was  a  black- 
robed  priest,  called  to  perform  the  marriage  rite  between 
Mrs.  Thermor  and  Major  Ravenshaw. 


164          A    DOUBLE   WEDDING:    OR, 


CHAPTER   VII. 

I  was,  indeed,  delirious  in  my  heart, 
To  lift  my  love  so  lofty  as  thou  art ; 
That  thou  wast  beautiful  and  I  was  blind, 
Hath  been  my  sin. — BYRON. 

Why  did  she  love  him  ?  curious  fool  be  still — 

Is  human  love  the  growth  of  human  will  ? — BYKON. 

ON  the  dressing-table  of  Mrs.  Thermor  a  note  in  the 
same  clear  superscription  as  that  which  had  met 
the  eyes  of  Mr.  Rivers  on  the  preceding  evening  on  his 
much  abused  papier  mache  port-feuille  was  laid  by  Rena 
on  the  following  morning. 

It  was  of  course  from  Mademoiselle  Minande,  and  to 
Mrs.  Thermor's  extreme  surprise,  and,  it  must  be  con 
fessed,  to  her  relief  as  well,  translated  runs  as  follows, 
for  it  was  written  in  French : 

"  MIDNIGHT,  BIRK-BRAES,  THE  "ELL,  CHAMBER — 
"  Mademoiselle  Minande  regrets  to  inform  Mrs.  Ther 
mor  that  circumstances  beyond  her  control  will  oblige 
her  to  leave  Birk-braes  in  a  few  days.  As  there  are 
yet  wanting  some  weeks  to  the  completion  of  her 
quarter,  she  begs,  as  a  special  favor,  that  her  generous 
employer  will  suffer  her  to  relinquish  all  claim  to  a 
salary  justly  forfeited  by  so  sudden  a  resignation  of  office 
and  departure.  Mademoiselle  Minande  begs  to  thank 
Mrs.  Thermor  for  the  many  courtesies  of  which  she  has 
been  a  grateful  recipient  at  her  hands  during  a  stay 
which  she  is  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  prolong.  It  is  hoped 
by  the  writer  of  this  note  that  no  reasons  for  a  change  of 
plan  may  be  demanded,  as  none  will  be  assigned,  and  no 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON. 

conjectures  hazarded,  as  none  could  be  correct,  as  to  the 
causes,  which  have  reference  solely  to  the  necessities  and 
affairs  of  Mademoiselle  Minande." 

"  Cool,  upon  my  word,  and  somewhat  supercilious  as 
well,  if  such  a  thing  could  be  on  her  part/'  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Thermor,  as  she  laid  down  the  note  and  drew  a 
long  sigh  of  relief.  "Well,  of  all  effrontery  going,  com 
mend  me  to  that  of  a  French  bourgeoise.  How  that 
woman  has  weighed  upon  me,  to  be  sure ;  and  what  is 
strange,  I  never  recognized  it  wholly,  never  felt  it 
sensibly,  until  this  moment."  She  thought,  as  she 
submitted  herself  to  the  skilful  hands  of  Rena  for  her 
morning  toilette,  "  I  always  felt  as  if  there  was  a  window 
open  in  my  breast  when  she  looked  at  me  with  those 
strange  eyes  of  hers — a  window  with  the  curtain  drawn 
back." 

"  I  am  looking  frightfully  this  morning,  Rena,"  she 
said,  as  she  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  herself  in  the 
mirror.  "  Give  me  the  cold  cream  and  my  rouge-pot — 
not  in  very  good  taste  at  breakfast,  but  nobody  ever  sus 
pects  me  for  the  hare's  foot.  It  is  true  I  am  roseate  or 
nothing,  as  somebody  says  or  does  not  say,  it  matters  not 
which,  and  I  have  a  very  stern  ordeal  before  me  to-day, 
to  be  sure  ! " 

"  The  poor,  poor  fellow,"  and  she  drew  a  long  heart 
breaking  sigh ;  then  leaning  her  head  upon  her  hand,  sat 
silent  so  long  that  Rena  thought  it  best  to  advise  her  of 
the  flight  of  the  enemy  and  admonish  her  in  this  wise : 

"  I  knows  you  wants  to  be  ready  dis  mornin '  of  all  de 
'ticlar  mornin's  of  de  year,  mistis,  'cause  dat  strange 
Gineral  am  walkin '  up  and  down  de  umbra  watchin '  for 


166  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

your  disappearance,  an'  has  been  doin'  so  dis  some  time,  or 
more,  an'  Mr.  Rivers  an'  Miss  Genie  an'  Miss  Gertrude 
Lindsay — dey's  in  de  flower-garden,  makin'  up  bokays." 

"And  where  is  Miss  Minande  ?  Comb  out  my  hair, 
Rena,  and  comb  it  gently,  my  head  aches  this  morning. 
But  really,  it  is  very  improper  for  those  two  little  girls 
to  be  out  there  alone  with  that  strange  young  man,  and 
I  should  hold  her  responsible  for  Genie  until  the  hour 
she  goes." 

"  I  seed  her  reading  at  her  window  as  I  passed,  sittin' 
up  like  a  lady  what  has  no  paid  employment.  Is  she 
gwine  away  den,  mistis?" 

"  Yes,  very  soon,"  aloud,  "  and  the  sooner  the  better," 
in  undertones.  "  I  wish  it  were  to-day,  this  hour,  this 
moment,"  aside. 

"  Do  you  still  think  her  engaged  to  Mr.  Rivers, 
Rena  ?  "  with  a  pensive  smile. 

"  Can't  say  I  does,  mistis,  and  Juba  has  got  it  into  his 
knotty  head  dat  he's  arter  higher  game — he !  he !  he !  I 
tinks  he  mus '  be  crazy  as  a  June  bug,  Juba  included." 

"  Don't  repeat  such  trash  to  me,  Rena.  What  right 
has  he  to  think?" 

"  Dat's  what  I  tells  him  mos '  ebery  day,  but  it  don't 
take  no  hole  on  him  whatsoever;  he  will  keep  on  think- 
in,'  thinkin,'  like  he  wos  white ;  but  I  don't  pay  no 
retention  to  him  thoughts,  mistis." 

"That  is  right,  Rena.  Yet  I  believe  I  questioned 
you  about  your  own.  That  seems  a  little  inconsistent, 
doesn't  it  ? "  drumming  with  her  fingers,  as  she  spoke, 
on  the  lid  of  her  dressing-case  and  paying  no  attention 
at  all  to  Rena's  discreet  answer,  which  is  therefore 
scarcely  worth  recording. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  167 

"  The  fact  is,"  she  said  to  herself,  suddenly  rising  and 
summing  up  unconsciously  aloud :  "  The  fact  is  I  am 
very  well  as  I  am  ;  and  old  Mandamus  says,  when  called 
in  to  see  a  patient  on  the  mend, '  We  will  let  well  enough 
alone  for  the  present.'  What  do  I  want  with  either  of 
the  incumbrances  ?  Am  I  not  free,  independent,  rich, 
even  happy  ?  " — drawing  a  deep  self-contradictory  sigh 
— "surrounded  with  troops  of  agreeable  friends  (God 
save  the  mark !)  blessed  with  dear  children,  and  good, 
devoted  servants — well,  well,  a  woman  must  be  a  great 
fool  so  situated  to  marry  again." 

"  Dat's  wot  I  sez,  mistis,  dat  wot  I  sez ;  but  Juba,  he 
keeps  on  'suadin'  me  dat  you  will  never  rest  in  dat  mind  • 
an'  Rena,  sez  he,  Rena,  mark  my  words,  it  '11  nebber  be 
an  old  man  wat  de  mistis  marries  a  second  time,  nebber 
in  dis  worle." 

"Will  you  stop  your  gossiping  and  hand  me  my 
peignoir  ?  "  interrupted  her  mistress.  "  I  had  no  idea  I 
was  talking  aloud,  and  I  wish  you  to  comprehend  once 
for  all,  Rena,  that  unless  I  address  a  remark  to  you  it  is 
not  to  be  replied  to  nor  reported.  As  for  Juba,  if  I 
hear  any  more  of  his  impertinence  in  the  shape  of  com 
ment  on  my  proceeding,  I  will  hire  him  out ;  just  tell 
him  so  from  me.  And  now  look  out  of  the  window  (I 
can't,  you  know,  undressed  as  I  am),  and  see  if  Miss 
Minande — those  children,  I  mean — are  still  in  the  garden 
— or — or  Mr.  Rivers.  I  particularly  wish  to  know; 
observe  quickly,  will  you,  Rena  ?  " 

"  Dey  has  retired  deyselves  clean  out  of  sight,  mistis, 
and  Miss  Minande  has  done  gone  from  the  window  to 
come  down-stairs,  I  spec ;  but  Mr.  Rivers,  he  am  prom 
enading  at  dis  time  up  and  down  the  lilac-walk,  dressed 


168  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

in  his  best  blue  blousy,  an'  readin'  a  little  pink  letter.  I 
spec  it's  de  same  wot  you  sent  him,  from  de  looks  ob  de 
color/'  and  she  rolled  her  eyes  very  innocently  at  Mrs. 
Thermor — subtle  hypocrite  that  she  was — and  smiled 
inwardly  to  see  her  mistress  smile  outwardly. 

"  You  is  looking  a  heap  better  now,  mistis,"  she  said, 
as  the  last  touch  was  added  by  her  own  skilful  hands  to 
the  ravishing  morning  toilet.  "  I  'clare,  you  are  as 
pretty  as  a  pink,  an'  beats  'em  all ;  even  Miss  Genie 
can't  hold  a  candle  to  you." 

"  Rena,  be  still ;  your  clatter  deafens  me.  There,  give 
me  the  cologne-water.  Just  a  drop  on  my  handkerchief; 
now,  another  on  my  palms.  There,  that  will  do,"  and 
she  went  away  radiant  and  refreshed — and  wretched. 

"  She'd  a  heap  rudder  go  out,  and  walk  up  and  down 
wid  young  Mr.  Rivers,  instead  of  promenading  on  de 
umbra  wid  dat  old-looking  Gineral ;  but  I  knows  wats 
wat,  an'  de  first  chop,  high  quality  like  Miss  Isabella 
Ruffin  Thermor  don't  dar  to  follow  out  der  likins  and 
dislikins  like  poor  white  trash ;  but  dey  has  to  marry 
suitable  to  der  condition — dat's  de  law  hereabouts.  Yes 
der  dey  go — sure  enough.  She  leanin'  on  his  arm,  so 
lovin',  too.  "Well,  I  nebber !  wen  I  knows  as  well  as 
dat  May  cherry-tree  in  de  garden,  dat  she  lubs  in  her 
heart  dat  'greeable  young  artistman's  little  finger  better 
dan  dat  ossifer's  whole  head ;  and,  fur  my  part,  I  don't 
see  how  any  one  could  help  it,  wid  dat  sweet  smile  of 
his'n,  an'  dem  big  bright  eyes,  and  dat  curly  hair,  jis 
like  Massa  Ruinn's.  Wen  Miss  Minande — well — it  ain't 
none  o'  my  business  nohow  to  be  talkin'  about  her " — 
and  with  this  moral  and  somewhat  contemptuous  reflec 
tion,  Rena  addressed  herself  to  the  careful  arrangement 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  169 

of  the  wardrobe  and  chamber  of  her  mistress,  the  care 
of  whose  comfort  occupied  her  whole  being. 

It  was  determined  by  Mademoiselle  and  Eugenie  that 
they  would  spend  the  morning  in  reviewing  what  store 
of  French  the  first  had  been  able  to  impart  during  her 
brief  stay  to  the  bright,  devoted  child  she  had  learned  to 
love  fondly  (lessons  being  at  an  end),  in  the  retirement 
of  the  ell-chamber  occupied  by  Miss  Minande,  and  for 
this  purpose  they  ascended  there  very  soon  after  break 
fast.  While  Genie  was  glancing  over  her  last  exercises, 
comparatively  and  diligently,  Miss  Minande  suddenly 
bethought  herself  of  a  book  she  had  left  in  the  pavilion, 
and  making,  perhaps,  a  pretence  of  her  wish  to  obtain  it 
before  she  should  forget  its  very  existence,  she  hastened 
thither,  intending  to  leave  on  his  table  a  little  present  for 
Monsieur  Rivers,  in  the  shape  of  a  purse  knit  by  her 
own  hands,  in  the  lining  of  which  she  had  sewn  a  scrap 
of  paper  that  she  hoped  he  would  some  day  find. 

To  her  surprise,  he  was  there,  not  only  in  spirit,  but 
in  person — having  ascertained  in  some  inscrutable  way 
that  her  lessons  were  ended,  and  that  she  would  occupy 
the  pavilion  as  a  school-room  no  longer.  As  he  saw 
her  he  looked  up  and  smiled,  for  he  thought  her  errand 
was  for  the  opal  ring,  demanded  through  her  hands, 
and  half  expected  this  visit,  though  not  at  such  a 
moment. 

"  Here  it  is,  Mademoiselle,  ready  and  waiting,  though 
I  am  sorry  to  part  with  it.  It  has  been  almost  a  talis 
man  to  me  for  many  years,"  he  exclaimed. 

She  received  it  calmly,  or  rather  stretched  forth  her 
hand  to  do  so ;  but  he,  holding  her  light  wrist  very  gin 
gerly,  put  the  ring  himself  upon  her  finger,  after  with- 


170          A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

drawing  it  from  the  fourth  finger  of  his  left  hand,  which 
it  had  fitted,  and  where  he  had  worn  it  long. 

"  It  just  fits  your  first  finger,"  he  said,  "  and  becomes 
it  well,"  and  again  in  his  foreign  fashion  he  lightly 
kissed  her  hand,  which  she  instantly  withdrew,  coloring 
violently  as  she  did  so,  but  scarcely  it  seemed  in  anger ; 
though  why  a  mere  customary  national  salute  of  her 
hand  should  have  agitated  her  so  deeply  he  could  not 
understand.  "Little  prude,"  he  thought  compassion 
ately. 

"You  will  have  better  fortunes  now — better  luck,  I 
trust,"  she  said  gently.  "  The  opal  is  said  to  be  a  stone 
that  bears  no  happiness  to  its  possessor." 

"  Thank  you  for  the  wish,  though  I  never  knew  the 
fact  you  state  before.  It  may  indeed  be  ominous  of  hap 
pier  days  that  it  is  withdrawn ;  yet  I  trust  its  shadow 
may  not  be  cast  elsewhere."  And  he  sighed.  "  Give  it, 
I  pray  you,  with  all  good  wishes,  to  the  sweetest  crea 
ture  it  was  ever  my  lot  to  know,  yet  not  to  see  (dis 
figured  by  small-pox  though  she  was  said  to  be),  from 
the  mystery  she  externally  afiected." 

"  But  you  forget  that  it  is  to  Madame  Burgenheim  I 
shall  surrender  this  ring,  according  to  the  directions  con 
tained  in  my  letter.  I  shall  probably  have  no  oppor 
tunity  of  conveying  your  message  to  the  invisible  girl. 
Moore  wrote  about  one,  you  remember.  I  happened  to 
read  the  poem  lately  in  turning  over  his  works  in  order 
to  find  his  great  poem  of  *  Lalla  Rookh.'  At  that  time  I 
intended  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  Mrs.  Thermor  by 
taking  a  part  in  her  fancy  ball ;  now  all  is  changed." 
And  she  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"And  you  are  going  back  to  France,  Mademoiselle?" 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  171 

"Oui,  Monsieur;  to  bury  myself  forever  with  my 
protectress  at  Les  Hirondelles.  I  am  fit  only  for  seclu 
sion,  and,  alas  !  perhaps  for  captivity."  And  she  sighed. 

"  Perhaps,  also,  I  may  return  to  France  shortly/'  he 
pursued,  "  if  only  for  a  season,  and  if  my  escort  thither 
— but  no,  I  cannot  yet  decide  upon  my  course  ;  matters 
are  still  too  uncertain  with  me,  too  painfully  uncertain," 
and  he  rose  and  paced  the  room,  while  his  fine  face 
glowed  with  emotion.  Then  suddenly  pausing,  he 
addressed  Mademoiselle  Minande  with  outstretched 
hands  and  eyes  full  of  a  noble  trust  and  truth  of  ap 
peal. 

"Wish  me  success  in  my  enterprise,  Mademoiselle; 
wish  me  success  and  favorable  winds  shall  fill  the  sails 
of  my  ship  of  hope,  for  all  things  good  and  noble  rest 
with  you.  In  this  I  venture  all — love,  life,  energy, 
liberty  itself — all  that  is  dear  to  man  and  favorable  to 
prosperity ;  and  an  hour  hence  my  fate  will  be  decided. 
You  prophesied  ill  for  the  termination  of  that  romance 
yesterday,  the  last  leaves  being  still  unread,  you  said. 
I  understand  you.  Can  you  not  to-day  recall  your 
prophecy  ?  " 

"  No,  Monsieur.  I  earnestly  wish  for  your  sake  that 
I  could.  Remember,  it  required  a  human  sacrifice  to 
propitiate  the  wind  at  Aulis.  Prepare  yourself  for  dis 
appointment."  And  she  bowed  before  him. 

Her  words  were  low — her  face  was  pale — and  -she 
turned  aside  her  head  to  hide  the  gushing  tears,  prepar 
ing,  as  she  did  so,  to  depart ;  but  he  would  not  let  her 
pass ;  he  held  her  fast;  his  oracle  must  speak. 

"  No ;  you  shall  not  leave  me,  my  friend,  my  sister,  in 
this  land  of  commonplace  and  strangers,  without  one 


172  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

look  of  kindness,  one  word  of  comfort,  with  again  that 
reference  to  a  bloody  sacrifice  upon  your  lips.  I  am  so 
superstitious  that  such  prophecies  appall  me !  Strengthen 
and  uphold  me,  Marie,  for  I  faint,  I  falter !  I,  so  confi 
dent,  so  elated  but  yesterday  on  the  receipt  of  this  note, 
which  now,  I  fear,  means  less,  far  less  than  I  had  sup 
posed  in  the  first  passionate  moments  of  its  perusal. 
There,  read  it,  Mademoiselle,  sister,  compatriot,  and  see 
if  to  you  it  contains  no  underlying  meaning,  no  hint  of 
hope ;  or  is  it  indeed  nothing  but  words  ?  '  Words,  words 
signifying  nothing/  as  Hamlet  says." 

She  read  the  note  rapidly,  thoroughly,  as  it  was  her 
gift  to  do,  with  the  microscopic  perfection  and  swiftness 
of  sight  given  to  the  near-sighted  as  a  partial  compensa 
tion  for  much  discomfort,  to  which,  in  her  case,  was 
added  a  sweep  of  mind  that  left  nothing  unnoted,  undis 
covered,  unrecorded,  wherever  the  vision  penetrated. 

"  It  is  mere  verbiage,"  she  said.  "  It  means  nothing 
— or  less  than  nothing.  Do  not,  I  entreat  you,  put 
yourself  in  this  woman's  power  further  than  you  have 
done.  Do  not,  Mazeron — do  not  creep  at  her  feet. 
Remember  what  you  owe  yourself — me — our  order. 
With  all  their  faults,  Bohemians  never  cringe ! " 

"Ah  ! "  and  he  drew  in  his  breath  bitterly,  (i  it  is  pre 
cisely  that  from  which  I  must  escape.  When  I  deter 
mined  to  give  up  my  art — if  such,  indeed,  it  be — I 
meant  to  throw  over  Bohemianism  as  well." 

"And  all  its  concomitants  ?  " 

"  Oui,  Mademoiselle,  with  one  exception — yourself." 

"  There  is  no  question  of  me,  Monsieur,  in  such  rela 
tions.  I  stand  alone."  And  she  drew  up  her  slight 
form  proudly.  "  I,  who  hold  myself,  poor  and  unknown 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  173 

as  I  am  here,  a  head  and  shoulders  above  any  one  of  my 
sex  at  Birk-braes,  except  the  child  Genie." 

He  looked  at  her  with  a  strange  expression  of  puzzled 
surprise — a  dawning  wonder.  He  had  not  found  her 
boastful  before.  Such  daring,  such  conceit,  were  beyond 
his  comprehension — on  her  part. 

"  You  certainly  except  Mrs.  Thermor,  ma  petite  Gas- 
conne  ? "  he  said  in  a  low  tone  of  supremest  reverence 
and  scorn  combined,  while  he  bent  his  head  and  gazed 
inquiringly  into  her  eyes.  "You  certainly  except  our 
hostess — yours  and  mine ;  that  peerless  beauty  and  in 
comparable  lady  ?  " 

"  He  should  have  lived  in  the  old  knightly  times," 
she  thought,  while  a  faint  smile  quivered  across  her  fea 
tures,  for  she  liked  (strangely  enough)  this  phase  of  his 
character  best.  "  Lived  when  he  could  have  worn  his 
lady's  colors  upon  his  helm  and  saddle  bow,  and  charged 
with  his  fiery  lance  all  persons  incredulous  of  her  charms." 
But  she  only  replied,  after  a  very  slight  hesitancy,  re 
turning  him  look  for  look, 

"  I  do  not  except  Mrs.  Thermor,  noble  Quixote." 

"  Mademoiselle,  you  amaze  me !  "  he  rejoined,  coldly, 
incredulously.  "  Quixotic  as  you  deem  me,  I  had  not 
supposed  such  self — "  and  he  paused,  too  polite  to 
proceed. 

"  *  Self-knowledge ;'  let  me  finish  your  sentence  for 
you.  I  suppose  that  is  what  you  intended  to  say,  is  it 
not?  Such  independence,  perhaps  that  was  the  word 
you  intended,  the  better  word  of  the  two,  applied  to  me. 
You  see  I  know  myself,  at  least." 

"  Such  vanity,  Mademoiselle,  if  you  demand  the  truth, 
in  one  who  seems  so  simple,  yet  so  just,"  he  added  with 


174  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

a  flashing  eye  and  heightened  color,  which  became  him 
well.  So  thought  magnanimous  Mademoiselle,  smiling 
sorrowfully. 

She  looked  upon  his  condition  with  the  sad  pitying, 
yet  prophetic  eyes  of  a  wise  physician,  pondering  some 
peculiar  phase  of  fever  and  confident  that,  with  God's 
help  and  the  assistance  of  his  sound  constitution,  he  may 
still  bring  his  patient  through  to  health  again. 

The  rebuke  was  sharp,  but  who  cares  with  NY  hat 
weapon  a  delirious  patient  assaults  his  watchers,  so  that 
they  be  quick  enough  to  parry  the  attack  ?  No  affront 
can  be  given,  no  insult  felt  from  an  utterly  irresponsible 
hand.  Mademoiselle  Minande  knew  well  that  the  last 
point  of  infatuation  had  been  reached,  nay,  passed,  by 
Mr.  Rivers  before  he  could  have  thus  accosted  her. 

Had  she  not,  too,  in  some  measure,  made  herself  liable 
to  such  insolent  reproof  by  her  own  haughty  independ 
ence  of  piqued  comparison  ?  Had  she  not  shaken  the 
red  rag  before  the  very  eyes  of  the  infuriated  bull,  and 
could  she  wonder  at  his  assault?  Something  of  this 
kind  must  have  passed  through  her  mind,  for,  quick  and 
sharp  at  repartee  as  she  was,  and  prone  to  it,  too,  and 
vivacious  of  nature,  she  answered  him  mildly  and  dis 
passionately,  with  no  effort  at  badinage. 

"Listen,  my  friend,  and  be  reasonable,"  she  said. 
"  Women  and  men  set  separate  and  widely  different  esti 
mates  on  one  another.  Mere  beauty,  mere  perfection  of 
toilet,  are  not  to  a  sensible  female  mind  the  '  sine  qua 
non/  that  men  find  them  in  women.  All  that  richness 
of  array  that  dazzles  you  my  eyes  have  feasted  on  in  the 
streets  and  shop-windows  of  Paris,  until  they  grew 
wearied  of  the  repetition.  All  that  full-blown  rose  and 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  175 

somewhat  meretricious  style  of  beauty  is  a  thing  well 
understood  by  spectators  of  society — mere  spectators  such 
as  I  have  been,  I  acknowledge,  only — such  as  you  never 
were.  Thus  it  is  new  and  bewildering  to  you,  as  it  can 
not  be  to  one  who  has  tested  disinterestedly  all  unreali 
ties  and  all  delusions  of  fashion,  and  looks  forward  to 
the  speedy  falling  of  those  wide-spread  leaves  of  the  too 
perfect  rose,  when  there  will  remain  only  a  bare  and 
unlovely  calyx,  unattractive  to  bee  or  bird,  or  even  to 
man.  I  should  be  wanting  to  myself,  to  my  Creator, 
did  I  not  value  my  own  substantial  gifts  more  than  these 
dubious  ones,  already  passing  away,  or  the  worldly  store 
of  wealth  with  which  Mrs.  Thermor  is  endowed.  Do 
you  suppose  for  one  moment  I  would  place  my  six-and- 
twenty  years  of  youth  and  strength,  unimpaired  by  sick 
ness  or  dissipation,  such  as  women  of  the  world  indulge 
in — my  lithe  and  supple  form — my  poverty — my  clear, 
cool  brain — my  independent  views — my  ardent  fancy — 
my  devoted,  faithful  disposition — my  many  and  hard- 
earned  accomplishments — my  efficiency  and  mere  pretti- 
ness,  which  answers  well  enough  for  me — against  her 
almost  forty  years — her  gold — her  excess  of  flesh  (you 
men  call  it  embonpoint) — her  want  of  muscle,  of  strength, 
both  mental  aiid  physical — her  poverty  of  resource — her 
fickle  and  inconstant  temper — her  devotion  to  conven 
tionalities — her  indifference  to  friends  (for  she  cares  for 
nobody  beyond  the  moment) — her  absolute  incapacity 
for  all  save  conventional  religion,  and  her  tastes  as 
changeable  as  the  silks  she  wears  ?  and  to  crown  all  these 
• — her  helplessness? 

"  No,  Mazeron  Rivers,  I  revoke  no  word  of  what  you 
are  at  liberty  to  consider  vaunt  or  vanity,  if  you  will. 


176  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    on, 

Yet  she  is  the  best  of  all  of  them — all  here  except  her 
child,  who  is  pure  gold,  a  jewel  undefiled  and  beyond 
price.  The  rest  are  dross  and  rubbish.  The  Lindsays, 
the  Blakes,  the  Donnellys — why  name  the  rest?  I  sim 
ply  mean  all  that  set  of  women,  except  Rose  Blamire — 
the  wild  Scotch  rose — and  perhaps  the  elderly  Miss  Con 
stance,  whom  I  know  but  slightly,  however ;  so  nervous 
is  she ;  not  much  older  than  Mrs.  Thermor,  if  truth  be 
told,  only  less  beautiful  and  less  indebted  to  art,  and  far 
less  artificial  in  her  views.  The  time  approaches  fast 
when  the  scales  shall  fall  from  your  eyes,  and  you  will 
think  with  me.  Until  then,  farewell.  I  may  not  be 
here  when  the  blow  descends ;  but,  if  I  am,  I  will  do 
what  I  can  to  save  and  serve  you,"  and,  turning,  she  was 
gone,  leaving  him  confounded. 

An  hour  later  he  wended  his  way  to  the  library,  hav 
ing  previously  made  the  very  best  toilet  he  could  com 
mand  from  his  slender  resources,  and  looking,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  every  inch  the  gentleman. 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  and  Major  Ravenshaw,  who  en 
joyed  one  another  amazingly,  each  having  a  fund  of 
army  anecdotes  to  recount,  had  wandered  off  to  be  gone, 
as  they  said,  all  the  morning — first  to  the  beach,  and 
later,  followed  by  Juba,  with  guns,  to  the  marshes.  The 
Lindsays,  one  and  all,  were  off  in  the  carriage,  returning 
some  neighborhood  visits,  from  which  arduous  duty  Mrs. 
Thermor  had  begged  to  be  excused  (even  while  urging 
the  necessity  of  paying  their  social  debts  upon  her  guests 
and  delaying  their  discharge  no  longer).  So  that  the 
forces  had  all  been  skilfully  or  accidentally  drawn  off 
from  the  citadel  and  the  castle  was  in  sole  possession  of 
its  few  occupants — the  lady  of  Birk-bracs  and  her  euani- 


v    HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  177 

orcd  knight,  Genie,  Mademoiselle,  and,  for  propriety's 
pale  sake,  the  numerous  retinue  of  servants. 

Mr.  Rivers  had  not  long  to  wait  before  Mrs.  Thermor 
came  gliding  slowly  and  gracefully  into  the  shadowed 
library,  with  her  flowing  white  embroidered  wrapper,  her 
silken  shoes  and  stockings,  and  her  pretty  floating  rib 
bons  of  lace  and  rose,  wafting  with  her  that  inexpressibly 
delicious  odor,  faint  yet  defined,  breathing  all  about  her 
— that  whispered  violets  whenever  she  approached — so 
different  from  the  dreadful  musk  of  his  splendid  actress 
acquaintances  in  old  times,  that  always  suggest  the  stage 
and  Cleopatra. 

She  came,  and  he  was  blessed,  for  the  hallucination  of 
yesterday  had  returned  with  full  force,  after  he  had  time 
to  recover  from  his  astonishing  interview  with  Miss 
Minande,  and  had  compassionately  forgiven  her,  on 
finding  the  little  glittering  purse  of  gray  and  gold,  on  his 
papeterie  (in  which  it  must  be  confessed  he  kept  his 
cravats  and  collars,  instead  of  paper,  of  which  he  pos 
sessed  no  store),  with  its  aifecting  motto,  "Toujours 
pour  toi,"  traced  there  in  golden  embroidery,  and  his  own 
initials. 

"  Poor  little  thing,  she  likes  me,  I  have  no  doubt,  and 
means  well,"  as  he  shook  his  graceful  head  above,  this 
souvenir  of  friendship.  "  What  a  heart  that  man  must 
have  had,  to  be  sure,  that  Frenchman,  to  crush  her  so 
utterly,  for  I  gather  this  much  at  least  from  her  own  con 
fession.  I  thought  she  despised  me  at  one  time,  but  I 
believe  now  she  is  about  my  best  friend  at  Birk-braes. 
Now,  of  course,  there  are  feelings  beyond  friendship ;  but 
I  mean  simply  good-will  and  fidelity  when  I  allude  to 
hers.  I  never  had  the  coxcombry  for  a  moment  to  sup- 
11 


178  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

pose,  nor  do  I  wish,  yet  that  deep  blush  of  hers  this 
morning  was  very  suspicious.  Suppose  it  were  the  case ! 
Well,  even  if  it  were,  it  would  be  no  fault  of  mine,  and 
she  would  have  to  get  over  it  as  she  best  could,  and  cer 
tainly  without  my  assistance ;  my  destiny  is  different,  for 
I  must  believe  Isabella  Thermor  loves  me ;  never,  never 
otherwise  could  she  have  yielded  her  divine,  pure  lips  to 
my  possession !  Put  up  her  mouth  even  !  Oh,  heavens ! 
how  sweet  it  was — like  a  little  child — half-soliciting  my 
embrace — for  otherwise  I  should  never  have  dared.  It 
was  very  natural  that  cool-headed  petite  Minande  should 
have  seen  no  undercurrent  in  that  note.  I  was  foolish 
to  be  depressed  by  her  remarks,  for  how  should  she  know 
what  fair  foundation  I  had  whereon  to  build  my  hopes  ? 
Women  like  Mrs.  Thermor  do  not  bestow  such  favors 
save  on  the  men  they  mean  to  marry/ 

And  thus  had  the  confiding  young  man  reasoned  him 
self,  however  fallaciously,  back  into  the  very  same  con 
dition  of  ecstasy  which  had  lifted  him  up  above  all 
sublunary  things  the  day  before  and  the  night  preceding 
that  day,  so  that  Paradise  seemed  unveiling  to  his  view 
when  his  fair  hostess  and  inamorata  entered,  radiant  and 
fresh  as  Aurora. 

"  You  are  truly  punctual,  Mr.  Rivers,"  she  said  in  her 
rich,  cordial  voice,  as  she  advanced  toward  him ;  then 
passing  him  by,  flung  open  one  of  the  shutters  of  the 
nearest  window,  before  she  seated  herself  with  her  back 
to  it,  in  one  of  the  great  gothic  chairs  adorning  the 
library,  huge  and  grand  enough  for  Charlemagne  him 
self. 

Thus  she  confronted  him  and  had  him  at  disadvantage 
both ;  for  while  she  could  read  the  working  of  every 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  179 

muscle  of  his  face,  her  own  was  partly  in  shadow — a  de 
vice  which  Henry  IV.  of  France  did  not  hesitate  to 
employ  (his  historians  say)  at  the  battle  of  Ivry  for  the 
discomfiture  of  his  foes.  Adversaries  are  not  lovers,  nor 
entitled  to  the  same  consideration,  yet  we  see  the  pleasing 
stratagem  of  war  employed  against  them  every  day  by 
coquettish  tacticians  of  all  ages.  But  to  do  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor  justice,  she  only  wished  on  this  occasion  to  hide 
her  agitation,  and  perchance  her  tell-tale  tears,  for  she 
suffered. 

"  You  are  truly  punctual,"  she  had  said,  on  entering, 
it  may  be  remembered ;  to  which  Mr.  Rivers  had  replied 
vaguely,  and  with  an  inapt  smile :  "  That  is  the  virtue 
attributed  to  kings,  you  know;  but  it  is  not  punctual  to' 
anticipate,  even  if  a  lover,"  he  continued,  finding  her 
still  silent  after  waiting  a  moment  for  her  rejoinder.  "I 
was  afraid  to  keep  you  waiting,  however ;  although  you 
named  no  definite  hour,  I  came  at  the  earliest  possible 
minute  of  the  hour  you  mentioned  as  inclusive  of  our 
interview." 

Thus  at  once  he  assumed  the  privilege  of  a  prolonged 
interview ;  for  the  school  hours  endured  from  nine  until 
noon. 

"I  did  not  think,"  she  said,  bridling  slightly,  "that 
school-hours  were  to  end  so  suddenly  when  I  made  this 
appointment  (if  such  it  may  called)  for  a  mere  every-day 
tete-il-te'te  such  as  ours  must  be.  I  wished  in  person  to 
thank  you,  however,  for  your  firmness  and  kindness  during 
our  little  run-away  adventure,  when  my  head  was  turned 
by  panic,  before — before-  you  left  Birk-braes — and  to  as 
sure  you  of  my  very  best  wishes  for  your  success,  not 
only  in  your  profession,  but  in  all  other  ways,  to  present 


180  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

you  with  this  pencil,  one  very  dear  to  me  from  associa 
tion,  as  a  very  slight  testimony  of  my  esteem  and  grati 
tude."  She  could  not  bring  herself  to  say  "affection," 
though  the  word  bubbled  up  on  her  lips  impulsively,  as 
she  spoke  from  the  depths  of  her  (it  must  be  acknowl 
edged  somewhat  shallow  and  ill-regulated,  even  if  excel 
lent  and  sympathizing)  heart.  So  speaking,  she  extended 
to  him  graciously  the  handsome  jewelled  pencil  of  em 
bossed  gold,  which,  if  truth  be  told,  had  once  done  good 
service  in  the  vest-pocket  of  the  deceased  Mr.  Thermor, 
and  mechanically  he  rose  and  received  it  with  a  bow. 

He  was  sitting  on  a  sofa  in  the  recess,  and  had  hoped 
that  she  would  occupy  a  seat  beside  him  in  the  shadow 
when  she  entered,  and  had  pictured  to  himself  before  she 
came  a  rapturous  moment  of  troth  given  and  received  in 
such  juxtaposition.  He  had  even  intended,  because  he 
possessed  no  other,  to  slide  upon  her  finger  the  enamelled 
ring,  representing  serpents  intertwined,  with  jewelled 
eyes  and  crests,  which  had  been  so  mysteriously  returned 
to  him  through  Mademoiselle  Minande,  and  which  was 
exquisite  in  workmanship,  if  not  intrinsically  valuable  as 
a  pledge  of  his  fidelity,  when  the  sweet  moment  came, 
and  when  the  rapturous  and  memorable  carriage  scene 
should  be  repeated,  with  addenda  of  kisses  ad  libitum, 
sighs,  smiles  and  soft  pressures  of  clasped  hands.  Such 
was  the  foolish  fellow's  fallacious  dream  of  felicity. 

How  cruelly  this  expectation  had  been  nipped  in  the 
bud  we  have  just  seen,  and  one  can  better  imagine  than 
describe  the  feelings  of  the  high-strung  and  inexperienced 
young  man,  as  he  stood  there  for  a  few  moments  cold  and 
pallid  as  stone,  and  speechless,  with  surprise,  sorrow  and 
oifended  pride  he  held  the  peace-offering  to  his  withered 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON. 

feelings  suspended  in  his  fingers,  scarcely  feeling  its  weight 
or  conscious  of  its  presence.  At  last  he  laid  it  quietly 
down  upon  the  corner  of  the  marble  mantle-piece  near 
which  he  stood,  as  mechanically  as  he  had  received  it 
(where  the  housemaid  found  it  next  morning),  then  re 
seated  himself,  without  a  word,  still  gazing  at  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor  with  those  large  dilated,  steady  eyes  that  seemed 
almost  as  strong  as  his  silence. 

"  I  have  chilled  his  ardor,"  she  thought,  but  she  did 
not  in  the  least  penetrate  his  emotion  at  the  time,  and  was 
glad  he  took  matters  so  quietly,  though  perhaps  she  was 
a  little  piqued  as  well;  yet,  when  he  spoke,  she  knew 
how  she  had  misconceived  him,  and  as  each  word  came 
laboring  from  his  breast,  she  pitied  him  inexpressibly — 
almost  to  compunction. 

"  You  surely  do  not  mean,"  he  at  last  said  falteringly, 
"you  cannot  mean  that  this  is  the  end  of  all  that  went 
before!" 

"  Yes,  I  do  mean  it,  Mr.  Rivers,  and  I  wish  you  could 
see  it  in  its  true  light,  instead  of  seeming  so  offended.  It 
is  a  necessary  conclusion  to  what  was  at  best  a  very  great 
weakness  on  my  part,  a  folly  on  your  own." 

"Then  you  did  love  me?"  he  interrupted,  passionately 
— leaning  forward  as  he  sat,  and  seizing  her  hands  im 
petuously,  which  she  suffered  him  to  retain  without  a 
struggle — "  do  love  me  still,  perhaps,  in  spite  of  this  cruel 
and  unlooked-for  conclusion  to  all  my  hopes?" 

She  did  not  answer  him,  and  silence  confirmed  his  as 
sertion. 

"  Bless  me,  at  least,  with  such  an  acknowledgment,"  he 
pursued,  after  a  moment's  pause — in  a  husky  whisper — 
"  before  we  part,  sweet  saint,  even  if  you  send  me  forth 


182  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

exiled  and  desolate  from  your  shrine  forever !  Give  me 
this  alone !  See,  I  fall  prone  before  you,  worship  you, 
entreat  you  for  the  words  that  shall  let  me  live !  for,  with 
out  them,  I  must  perish  utterly,  here  and  hereafter ! " 
As  he  spoke,  gliding  from  the  sofa,  he  knelt  before  her, 
still  clasping  her  hands  in  his,  and  laid  his  head  upon 
them  so  intertwined  as  a  child  might  do  on  his  mother's 
knee,  while  she  felt  his  hot  tears  trickling  over  her  fin 
gers,  his  sobs  shaking  the  very  chair  she  sat  on. 

"  Men  that  cry  when  troubled  or  enraged  are  dangerous 
bipeds,"  said  a  physiologist  on  a  recent  trial,  when  such 
evidence  of  idiosyncrasy  had  been  alleged  as  a  proof  of 
soft-heartedness  in  favor  of  and  on  the  part  of  a  convicted 
homicide — and  of  this  class  was  our  gentle  artist,  as  has 
been  already  seen,  that  is  as  far  as  the  tears  have  gone. 

It  is  otherwise  with  women.  The  dangerous  ones  (in 
the  sense  of  our  physiologist,  dangerous  to  others  by  word 
or  blow)  are  those  that  weep  rarely.  Mrs.  Thermor  was 
tearfully  inclined  by  nature,  a  perfect  April-day  rain  and 
sunshine,  and  in  accordance  with  her  own  temperament 
and  in  sympathy  with  the  man  she  loved  (the  secret  is  out 
now,  reader,  beyond  retrieve),  she  too  wept  profusely. 
Her  tear  drops  glittered  on  his  shining  hair,  and  she  re 
marked  its  character  and  gloss  as  the  light  fell  over  it. 
She  was  sorry  now  that  she  had  opened  the  shutter,  the 
doing  which,  she  had  hoped,  might  prove  a  restraint  on 
their  conversation,  as  even  on  the  secluded  gallery  ser 
vants  were  known  to  pass  sometimes.  But  she  thought 
it  best  to  let  him  exhaust  his  grief  in  his  own  way  before 
she  should  undertake  the  task  of  persuading  him,  as 
nurses  do  little  children,  that  his  physic  was  good  and 
wholesome  for  him — not  nauseous  and  bitter  to  the  palate 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  183 

— so  that  he  might  gulp  it  down  and  be  done  with  it  at 
one  potent  draught  and  go  his  way. 

Yet  had  she  followed  her  instincts  then  (and  surely 
she  is  entitled  to  some  credit  in  repressing  them  on  the 
score  of  self-denial  at  least)  she  would  have  raised  him, 
sad  and  despairing,  from  his  knees,  and  thrown  her 
white  arms  about  him,  and  comforted  him  with  the 
assurance  that  she  would  be  his  forever — or  rather  that 
he  should  be  hers — as  it  would  have  been  for  her, 
not  him,  to  sing,  "Come  live  with  me  and  be  my 
love." 

But  she  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  Contenting  herself 
after  shaking  away  her  briny  drops — for  her  hands  were 
prisoners — in  whispering  softly  in  his  ear,  quick  to  catch 
her  slightest  accent,  "You  compromise  me  very  seriously 
by  such  behavior,  dear  Mazeron.  Do  rise  and  leave  me. 
What  if  Miss  Minande  should  glance  this  way,  or 
Genie,  or  even  the  servants  ?  Pray  think  of  my  pecu 
liar  position." 

"  It  surely  is  not  my  wish  or  province  to  do  this,"  he 
said,  springing  to  his  feet  as  impetuously  as  he  had  knelt 
down.  "But  Isabella,  you  must  not  send  me  forth 
without  the  consolation  I  demand;  the  confession  in 
words  of  what  you  have  already  manifested  by  deed. 
Say  that  you  love  me,  and  I  shall  find  food  for  consola 
tion,  even  if  bereft  of  hope." 

She  had  risen  as  he  spoke,  and  stood  confronting  him 
almost  as  tall  as  he  was,  and  greatly  larger,  and  yet  far 
more  beautiful  to  him,  even  in  the  elimination  of  her 
charms,  than  any  woman  he  had  ever  looked  upon. 
With  her  eyes  cast  down,  her  hands  clasped  before  her, 
her  color  coming  and  going,  her  bosom  heaving  turnul- 


184  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

tuously,  her  whole  demeanor  that  of  shrinking  modesty 
and  suffering  affection,  she  murmured  softly — 

"  It  is  true — too  true — I  love  you,  Mazeron ! " 

"  I  hope  he  will  behave  himself  now,"  she  thought, 
"  and  go  off  quietly,  for  I  do  detest  scenes,  and  some 
body  will  be  sure  to  come  along  presently." 

But  again  he  grasped  her  hands  tumultuously. 

"  Then  if  you  love  me,"  he  said  in  his  deep  and  tender 
tone,  "  there  is  no  reason  that  I  should  yet  depart.  Are 
you  not  the  mistress  of  your  own  acts  ?  Am  I  not  free 
to  come  and  go  as  the  air  that  blows  ?  Who  questions 
of  our  right  to  love  each  other,  or  who  so  doing  need  be 
regarded  more  than  the  idle  winds?  Your  Colonel 
Kavanaugh,  your  Miss  Minande,  who  are  they  to  put 
chains  about  our  passion?  Yet  these  are  the  wire- 
workers  who  seek  to  mar  our  fate  and  stand  between  us 
— being  betrothed  by  heaven !  Come,  most  adored  of 
women,  and  if  you  love  me  truly,  as  you  say,  become  at 
once  my  wife,  and  set  all  these  intermeddlers — your 
Major  Ravenshaw  amongst  the  rest — at  stern  defiance. 
Be  true,  be  brave,  Isabella  Thermor!  I  await  your 
answer." 

She  had  withdrawn  her  hands  from  his  eager  grasp, 
and  he  stood  now  leaning  against  the  corner  of  the 
mantel-piece — pale  and  proud  as  she  had  not  seen  him 
before — with  his  arms  folded  upon  his  breast,  his  eyes 
flashing,  his  lips  compressed,  and  the  cold  dew  breaking 
over  his  polished  forehead. 

"  He  is  beautiful,"  she  thought ;  "  beautiful  as  a  Greek 
god,  and  I  love  him  so  dearly.  But  I  dare  not !  dare 
not !  (oh,  bathos  again  that  expression)  dare  not  face  the 
music ! "  It  was  the  only  phrase  she  could  think  of 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  185 

strong  enough  for  the  occasion,  and,  as  once  before,  she 
invoked  the  aid  of  slang  to  help  her  through  her  mental 
difficulty — her  Cretan  labyrinth  of  incertitude. 

"  You  are  too  young  for  me,  Mr.  Rivers,"  she  faltered 
at  last.  "  My  sons  would  be  offended — my  friends — my 
daughter  Genie  even — and  what  would  they  say  in  Bal 
timore?  Oh,  if  you  have  any  pity  on  me,  go  quietly 
and  never  come  again  !  "  And  she  hid  her  face  in  her 
hands  and  moaned,  shedding  bitter  and  blinding  tears 
this  time. 

"Why  did  you  not  think  of  all  this  before?"  he 
asked  bitterly,  "  when  you  unveiled  your  charms  so  freely 
in  the  atelier  to  my  admiring  gaze,  and  lavished  glances 
upon  me,  and  sweet  smiles  that  might  have  stirred  a 
heart  in  the  breast  of  a  marble  statue?  I  was  mad 
enough  then  to  pour  out  my  soul  at  your  feet — daring 
enough — but  your  mild  resentment  froze  me  into  silence 
and  repentance,  and  I  might  have  stifled  my  passion  as 
Othello  did  the  outcries  of  Desdemona,  so  that  no  wail 
of  its  expiring  agonies  should  ever  have  reached  your 
ear,  but  for  the  scene  so  recently  enacted  in  the  carriage. 
The  barriers  were  then  broken  down  on  either  side,  and 
your  soul  mingled  with  mine  in  one  long,  passionate 
kiss,  that  even  your  coldness  cannot  erase  from  my 
remembrance,  nor  from  my  lips,  no  more  than  from 
your  own.  I  have  deemed  you  pure  as  Diana,  and  sup 
posed  this  salute  the  pledge  of  life-long  affection,  not  the 
passing  favor  of  a  grasping  coquette,  insatiate  to  destroy ; 
and  " — he  added  low — "  a  wanton,  heartless  woman  of 
the  world ! " 

His  mad,  his  bitte*,  his  unbridled  words  had  stung 
her  to  a  sense  of  what  he  suffered,  and  what  she  had 


186  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

done,  and  to  an  admiration,  strange  to  say,  that  she  had 
never  felt  for  him  before.  Yet,  mingled  with  this,  was 
a  just,  womanly  indignation,  which  found  vent  in  some 
sentences  very  unusual  to  her  moderate,  matronly  mind 
and  mode  of  expression. 

"  You  insult  me,  sir ! "  she  said,  with  quivering  lips, 
"and  your  insult  shall  not  pass  unnoticed.  You  pre 
sume  too  far  on  the  helplessness  of  my  condition ;  the 
immature  boyhood  of  my  sons.  But  there  are  others 
willing  and  ready  to  avenge  my  wrongs.  I — a  lady  " — 
and  she  faltered  here,  unable  to  proceed.  "  Isabella !" 
and  his  hand  was  on  her  arm — not  from  fear,  as  she 
fancied,  of  her  menace,  but  from  the  anguish  of  having 
oifended  her ;  the  despairing  of  any  possible  future 
reconciliation  should  they  part  in  anger  now. 

"  Forgive  me !"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  have  pity  on  me,  a 
wretch,  whose  wild  words  only  mean  despair  and  death !" 

But  she  shook  off  his  hand  as  if  it  had  been  a  serpent, 
and  turned  away  hurriedly  to  leave  the  room  and  his 
presence — the  last  forever  as  he  felt  assured  from  the 
dread  voice  that  whispered  in  his  breast  a  warning  knell. 

With  a  wild  cry,  like  that  of  some  hunted  creature,  he 
sprang  after  her,  stayed  her  on  the  threshold  by  clasp 
ing  her  wrist  before  she  could  unclasp  the  door,  and  his 
face  as  he  turned  it  to  the  light  was  utterly  despairing 
and  livid  with  emotion. 

"  You  would  not  leave  me  thus,"  he  said  passionately, 
"knowing  how  dearly  I  love  you,  as  you  never  have 
been,  as  you  never  can  be  loved  again.  One  word — only 
one  word — say  I  am  beloved,  Isabella,  and  you  shall  be 
free  to  go — nay,  more,  I  will  promise  never  to  seek  you 
again !" 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  187 

"  Boy,  you  are  mad ;  unhand  me  on  the  instant,  open 
the  door  for  me  and  let  me  pass,  or  Major  Ravenshaw 
shall  hear  of  this/'  she  said,  harshly. 

"Major  Kavenshaw!"  he  bitterly  repeated,  releasing 
her  instantly.  "  Do  you  think  I  care  for  any  opinion  or 
act  of  his  ?  It  is  for  you  alone,  most  cruel,  most  adored 
of  women,  that  I  take  heed  or  thought  in  all  this  empty 
world.  As  for  that  insolent  officer — " 

"He  is  at  your  service,"  interrupted  Major  Raven 
shaw,  as  he  stepped  unceremoniously  through  the  open 
window,  sword-cane  in  hand.  "  Unhand  that  lady,  sir, 
as  I  heard  her  bid  you  do  a  moment  since,  by  the  merest 
accident,  or  you  shall  receive  a  taste  of  this,"  and  he 
brandished  his  trusty  cane,  which  in  many  a  combat  with 
wild  bear  and  wolf,  or  serpent,  had  stood  him  in  good 
stead. — "Now  leave  the  room  instantly,  you  insolent 
Bohemian.  Do  you  hear  me,  sirrah  ?" 

"We  are  both  guests  here  on  equal  terms,  I  believe," 
said  the  young  man  steadily,  aroused  to  a  sense  of  what 
he  owed  himself  and  appearances  on  her  account,  and 
commanding  himself  to  moderation  for  her  sake  alone. 
"I  will  not  bandy  epithets  in  such  presence,  and 
whether  I  leave  this  room  or  remain  herein  until  it  suits 
me  to  withdraw  depends  solely  on  the  fiat  of  the  lady  of 
this  house."  Then  bowing  low  before  her  he  said :  "  I 
give  you  the  alternative,  madam,  once  for  all,  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor,  you  can  choose  between  us,  this  man  or  me  for  life." 

Strange  inconsistency  of  womanhood  !  After  all  that 
he  had  done  to  annoy  and  grieve  her ;  all  that  he  had 
said  to  outrage  and  offend  her  from  the  first  to  the  last 
of  that  ill-starred  and  indiscreet  interview,  she  hesi 
tated  one  moment  as  to  the  course  she  should  pursue. 


188  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

"  Thought,  like  a  sword  dividing  the  swift  wind,"  con 
vulsed  her  as  she  stood  with  her  hand  upon  the  handle 
of  the  door,  uncertain  as  to  whether  she  should  link  her 
fate  defiantly  with  that  of  the  man  she  loved  for  life,  and 
face  Mrs.  Grundy  and  all  her  myrmidons,  or  turn  and 
fly  to  her  chamber,  leaving  matters  to  take  their  course, 
or,  still  better,  assert  herself  mistress  of  her  own  house, 
order  the  artist  to  his  atelier,  the  officer  to  his  apartments 
— both  under  temporary  arrest — with  her  emphatic  com 
mand  to  keep  the  peace,  and  lose  both  her  lovers  at  one 
fell  swoop !  What  should — what  must  she  do  ?  Already 
her  eyes  were  turning  involuntarily  to  meet  the  eyes  of 
Rivers ;  already  he  felt  his  advantage  and  shivered  with 
delight,  when  the  tone  of  an  unwelcome  and  jubilant 
voice  without,  and  the  words  uttered,  at  once  turned  the 
scale.  In  another  moment  she  heard  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh,  who  knew  not  where  to  seek  her,  calling  shrilly 
from  the  piazza — not  ten  paces  from  the  library  windows 
— in  those  peacock  tones  of  his,  "  Isabella !  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor,  where  are  you?  Ruffin  has  arrived.  Come  see 
your  boy.  There  he  is,  as  large  as  life,  walking  up  from 
the  strand." 

Every  nerve  in  her  mother's  heart  was  thrilled  by  this 
appeal  and  announcement,  and  her  eyes,  so  lately  turned 
towards  Mr.  Rivers,  now  glittered  with  delight  and 
caught  the  sympathetic  glances  of  Major  Ravenshaw  on 
their  way  to  the  window.  There  was  no  time  now  for 
further  deliberation,  all  must  be  quickly  done,  if  done  at 
all,  and  in  one  moment  the  very  thought  of  Ruffin  and 
what  she  owed  her  boy  adjusted  the  hitherto  uncertain 
balance. 

It  is  wonderful  how  quickly  some  women  change 


SOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  189 

their  moods  and  minds,  from  grave  to  gay,  from  lively 
to  severe — nay,  more,  from  trembling  love  to  icy  cold 
ness  and  commanding  dignity.  There  was  a  complete 
revulsion  in  the  brain,  heart,  and  manner  of  Mrs. 
Thermor. 

"This  is,  indeed,  a  delightful  surprise  to  me,"  she 
said,  advancing  to  the  window.  "Major  Ravenshaw, 
your  arm  if  you  please;  I  tremble  so  I  can  scarcely 
venture  to  go  alone  and  unsupported  to  meet  my  Ruffin ! 
Yes,  Colonel  Kavanaugh !  I  am  coming  instantly.  He 
is  at  the  gate,  the  dear,  dear  fellow.  I  see  him  now 
myself.  God  bless  the  boy !  How  well  he  looks !  Why, 
he  is  taller  than  Juba,  who  has  found  him  out  already. 
It  is  just  a  year!" 

Then,  stepping  back  as  if  recalling  some  slight,  forgot 
ten,  yet  necessary  duty,  she  interrupted  herself  to  say  in 
tones  of  cold,  and  even  mocking  urbanity*to  that  statue 
mask,  Mazeron  Rivers,  "  We  stand  not  upon  the  order 
of  our  going  to-day,  you  see ;  we  leave  you  in  full  and 
undisturbed  possession  of  the  library.  I  have  the  honor 
to  wish  you  a  return  to  your  usual  serenity  of  mind,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  very  good-morning,"  and  with  a 
stately  superb  sweep  of  the  head  she  was  gone — and 
forever. 

Yes,  he  had  lost  her  as  certainly  and  irretrievably  as 
the  man  who  lets  fall  a  gem  of  price  into  the  sea  loses  his 
inestimable  jewel.  No  gormandizing  fish  could  ever  be 
found  to  bring  back  to  him  in  these  days  of  common 
place  the  ring  of  Perdicus — gone,  gone  irretrievably. 

Yet  he  was  just  as  near  winning  her,  this  artist  of 
ours,  in  spite  of  his  infatuation — his  green-horn-ism — 
and  his  second-rate,  melo-dramatic  enthusiasm  and  poor 


190  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

performances,  and  in  the  face  of  his  insensate  and  even 
unmanly  reproaches  (or  rather  perhaps,  because  of  them, 
for  she  was  a  common-place  sentimentalist,  who  did  not 
always  discriminate  as  to  the  finer  touches)  as  ever  was 
a  gambler  a  desperate  game  who  turned  up  a  deuce  in 
stead  of  an  ace !  Strange  that  one  spot  should  make  so 
great  a  difference — strange,  too,  that  the  distant  tones  of 
a  boy's  jocund  voice  should  be  heard  above  all  the  haut- 
bois  and  clarions  of  the  orchestra  of  passion  and  inclina 
tion.  Oh  !  strong — and  stronger — and  stronger  is  ma 
ternity  ! 

That  day  Ruffin  took  up  the  idea  that  that  "jolly 
old  cock  " — a  mere  slang  term,  not  at  all  applicable  to 
the  stately  Major  Ravenshaw,  who  was  dark  and  stern 
and  saturnine — would  some  day  or  other  be  his  step 
father. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  191 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Banished  ?    The  damned  use  that  word  in  hell ; 
Howlings  attend  it.    How  hast  thou  the  heart 
To  mangle  one  with  that  word — banishment? 

SHAKESPEARE. 

Must  I  give  way  and  room  to  your  rash  choler? 

SHAKESPEARE. 

MISS  MINANDE  did  not  perceive  the  artist  as  he 
passed  swiftly  and  silently  to  regain  his  refuge 
through  the  garden  walk  beneath  her  window,  and 
where,  after  his  seething  brain  had  returned  to  compara 
tive  composure,  he  cast  himself  on  his  bed  and  lay 
mutely  all  day,  trying  to  adjust  his  plans  for  immediate 
action. 

"With  a  wet  towel  on  his  head,  and  an  ice-cold  hand 
seeming  to  clamp  his  very  heart  in  its  inexorable  grasp ; 
with  feet  as  chill  as  those  of  the  dead,  blood-shot  eyes 
and  a  burning  brow,  it  need  not  be  said  he  was  in  no  very 
fit  condition  to  come  to  just  conclusions. 

Towards  Mrs.  Thermor  his  feelings  had  already 
undergone  a  profound  revulsion,  and  in  the  first  mo 
ments  of  his  delirious  despair  he  saw  little  cause  to  doubt 
that  the  opportune  appearance  of  Major  Ravenshaw  on 
the  scene  had  been  the  result  of  collusion  or  conspiracy 
of  the  blackest  dye. 

This  thought  he  dismissed,  however,  upon  considera 
tion  as  insufficiently  supported  by  such  evidences  as  he 
could  command,  and  he  contented  himself  with  thirsting 
for  the  blood  of  the  impudent  intermeddler  who  had 
ordered  him  like  a  beaten  hound  from  his  presence,  and 
for  the  humiliation  of  the  proud  coquette  who  had  swept 


192  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

from  him  with  such  disdain  in  wishing  him  a  last  "  good- 
morrow." 

His  passion  of  anger — even  when  it  had  quieted  down 
from  frenzy  to  stolid  rage — literally,  like  jealousy  (tinc 
tured  with  that  jaundice  of  the  mind  as  it  certainly  was), 
"  made  the  food  it  fed  on,"  and  incited  him  to  imagine 
cruelty  and  design  of  insult  on  many  previous  occasions, 
unsuspected  at  the  moment,  and  now  recalled  with  bitter 
and  malignant  satisfaction. 

He  made  no  effort  to  put  aside  the  bitter  cup  of  shame 
and  disappointment  that  had  been  lifted  to  his  lips,  but 
drank  it  in  all  its  fulness  to  the  bitter  dregs ;  and  exe 
crated  in  the  same  breath  his  pernicious  folly,  and  the 
fair,  false  face  that  had  occasioned  it. 

Juba,  entering  softly  at  dinner  time  with  a  tray  of 
well-selected  viands,  was  sternly  motioned  to  withdraw 
with  his  ill-timed  supplies,  which  he  did  unwillingly ; 
and  it  was  not  until  midnight  that  Mazeron  Rivers  broke 
his  bitter  fast,  on  a  crust  of  bread  and  cup  of  water  that 
happened  to  be  at  hand  on  his  mantel  shelf.  He  then 
slept  profoundly,  and  woke  when  it  was  nearly  noonday, 
refreshed  and  tranquillized  by  his  slumber,  though 
scarcely  yet  himself. 

When  he  rose  on  his  elbow  to  look  around  him  and 
recall  his  precise  situation,  he  was  not  sorry,  however,  to 
see  a  breakfast  tray  carefully  placed  on  a  small  stand 
near  his  atelier,  and  found  himself,  almost  before  he  knew 
what  he  was  doing,  eating  ravenously. 

"  So  much  for  pride,"  he  thought  with  a  grim  smile, 
"  but,  fortunately,  I  have  made  up  my  mind  what  to  do, 
in  the  last  ten  minutes,  and  the  sooner  it  is  accomplished 
the  better  for  all  concerned." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOK.  193 

In  the  meantime  no  one  approached  the  pavilion  except 
the  invisible  Juba,  mysteriously  bearing  supplies,  which 
he  managed  to  insinuate  into  the  little  adjoining  cham 
ber,  and  occasionally  a  wandering  gardener,  who  passed 
whistling  to  his  work  with  spade  on  shoulder,  as  it  was 
generally  understood  that  Mr.  Rivers  did  not  wish  to  be 
disturbed  in  the  prosecution  of  his  painting,  limited  as 
was  his  time  and  slow  as  had  hitherto  been  his  progress. 

This  version  of  the  matter,  industriously  circulated  as 
it  was  by  his  charitable  hostess  (most  desirous  to  shroud 
the  heart  of  the  mystery  that  enveloped  Mr.  Rivers  and 
his  disappearance  from  society — not  alone  for  his  own 
sake  perhaps),  was  confidingly  accepted  by  all  but  two  or 
three  persons  of  the  household  of  Birkbraes. 

The  scene  in  the  library  had  passed  without  a  witness 
beyond  its  actors,  nor  as  yet  had  it  been  whispered  be 
yond  those  walls  within  which  it  had  occurred.  Yet, 
already  were  the  hound-like  noses  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh 
and  Clara  Lindsay  upon  the  scent ;  Mademoiselle,  too, 
had  her  own  little  suspicions  which  she  kept  very  care 
fully  to  herself,  avoiding  the  most  trivial  mention  of  Mr. 
Rivers,  for  fear  of  betraying  them  by  the  quiver  of  an 
eyelash. 

Mrs.  Thermor  felt,  under  the  circumstances,  her  de 
spairing  lover  was  pursuing  the  very  most  prudent  course 
open  to  him,  and,  with  the  natural  revulsion  of  her  really 
good  heart  and  easy  temper,  hoped  yet  to  extend  to  him 
the  hand  of  friendship  and  forgiveness  before  their  final 
separation.  In  the  meantime  she  was  unaffectedly  ab 
sorbed  with  Ruffin,  who  was  a  brilliant  type  of  her  own 
family.  Her  blue-eyed  boy,  with  his  flush  complexion 
and  curling  hair,  his  gayety,  frankness  and  facile  temper, 
12 


194  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

so  different  from  her  dark-browed  Charlie's — his  father 
in  miniature — or  Genie's  calm,  good  sense. 

Shut  up  with  her  cherished  darling  and  his  sister,  she 
made  him  recount  for  their  entertainment,  in  his  own 
fluent,  off-hand  way,  all  the  adventures  he  could  possibly 
remember,  and  perhaps  invent,  incident  to  his  wander 
ings  by  land  and  sea. 

Like  most  youths  of  good  condition  who  enter  our 
navy,  early  he  had  seen  something  of  foreign  and  even 
barbarous  courts — had  stories  to  tell  of  the  Sublime  Porte 
and  of  the  great  Czar  Nicholas,  as  well  as  of  that  milder- 
mannered  man,  Louis  Napoleon,  and  his  lovely  Eugenie, 
then  newly-made  Empress  of  the  French. 

Sometimes  Major  Ravenshaw  would  beg  to  be  included 
in  the  charmed  circle,  and  it  was  curious  to  see  how  he 
delighted  in  the  animated  and  varied  discourse  of  the 
travelled  boy,  and  how  implicitly  he  confided  in  many 
of  his  most  extravagant  relations ! 

Had  he  ventured  to  lift  an  incredulous  eyebrow  even, 
it  is  more  than  probable  that  his  influence  would  have 
been  at  an  end,  but  whether  real  or  feigned  (and  let  us 
believe  from  all  we  know  that  it  was  the  first),  the  in 
terest  he  manifested  in  Ruffin  grappled  him  with  hooks 
of  steel  to  the  heart  of  the  lad's  very  maternal  mother, 
for  there  are  several  degrees  of  this  same  maternity,  or 
hen  instinct,  as  we  all  know. 

Yet  there  were  moments,  and  bitter  ones,  when,  even 
in  the  midst  of  such  enjoyment,  a  sense  of  the  misery  of 
one  in  some  sort  dearer  to  her  than  all  the  rest  would 
intrude  sharply,  and  when  she  felt  she  would  have  given 
worlds  just  to  hear  one  sweet  low  voice  pronounce  her 
name  in  accents  of  affection  and  forgiveness.  At  such 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  195 

seasons,  her  face,  a  very  expressive  one  emotionally, 
would  so  suddenly  cloud  over  that  Major  Ravenshaw 
would  inquire  anxiously  what  ailed  her,  and  Genie  would 
go  for  the  salts  or  cologne  water,  ever  at  hand,  and  even 
obtuse,  vain,  vagarious  Ruffin  would  say  impetuously, 
"  Now,  mother,  if  I  bore  you,  just  speak  out  and  let  me 
cut  short  my  yarn.  There's  nothing  makes  a  fellow  feel 
so  cheap  as  to  let  out  too  much  cable  for  safe  anchorage." 

"  Yet,  after  all,  what  had  she  to  forgive — was  it  not 
he  alone  who  had  offended?"  So  her  train  of  thought 
would  run,  when  she  had  quieted  all  the  anxiety  of  her 
circle,  smoothing  her  brow,  and  denying  fatigue,  com 
manding  her  lips  to  smile. 

"What  words  were  those  he  had  employed  in  the 
course  of  his  bitter  recriminations  so  utterly  undeserved.," 
for  thus  she  persuaded  herself;  "what  names  had  he  not 
applied  to  one  who  had  never  before  in  the  course  of  her 
whole  life,  never  save  for  him,  laid  aside  the  severe  mod 
esty  of  maid  or  matron?  And  this  was  his  gratitude 
for  her  earnest,  loving  impulse  !  her  great  self-sacrifice  ! 
Thus  dearly  had  she  purchased  remorse  and  self- 
contempt  and  shame  ! "  She  would  then  veil  her  eyes  at 
this  reflection.  "  No,  it  was  she  who  had  all  to  forgive, 
and  until  he  humbly  sought  such  forgiveness  it  should 
never  be  extended  to  him,  even  if  he  went  away  offended 
and  so  remained  for  life.  Let  him — who  needs  care ! " 

Despite  these  reflections,  and  many  similar  ones,  she 
was  deeply  affected  when  on  retiring  for  the  night,  after 
the  lapse  of  twenty-four  hours,  she  found  lying  on  her 
dressing-table  a  very  business-like  looking  letter  directed 
in  the  flowing  hand  of  Rivers.  The  pressed  Bath  paper 
and  perfumed  wax  of  the  library  had  been  rejected  on 


196  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

this  occasion  in  favor  of  some  meagre  stationery  from  the 
adjacent  village  of  Sandpiper,  in  a  spirit  of  manly  inde 
pendence  as  commendable  in  itself  as  its  results  were 
mean  and  unsatisfactory — for  even  a  note  or  letter  has  a 
physiognomy  of  its  own,  according  to  its  getting  up. 

Yet,  had  no  rose-tinted  paper  or  gold  mosaicised 
sealing-wax  ever  so  moved  her !  It  was  well,  perhaps, 
that  Rena  had  been  dismissed  before  she  perceived  it, 
though,  of  course,  through  her  ministrations  alone, 
could  it  have  found  place  upon  her  toilet-table,  and  that 
Genie,  whose  observation  she  had  reason  to  fear,  was 
coiled  up  in  bed  as  sound  asleep  as  a  dormouse  in  winter- 
quarters. 

She  tore  it  open  eagerly  and  could  have  kissed  it,  and 
very  beautiful  she  looked  beneath  the  lamplight,  as  she 
read  this  note — the  last  she  knew  that  she  should  ever 
receive  from  the  man  she  had  so  loved  (for  had  she  not 
acknowledged  this  much,  even  to  him?)  She  was  far 
more  beautiful  in  her  long,  white  cambric  gown,  deli 
cately  trimmed  with  lace,  and  her  waving  hair  hanging 
below  her  waist  in  soft,  rich  masses,  in  her  bare,  white 
feet,  and  her  full,  uncorseted  form,  firm  and  sound  as 
marble,  closely  developed  by  the  clinging  night-dress, 
than  arrayed  in  the  silken  sheen  she  so  much  affected 
and  admired. 

For  all  that  was  false  and  frivolous  about  her  had  dis 
appeared  as  from  the  motion  of  a  magician's  wand,  and 
her  face  wore  an  expression  of  depth  and  tenderness 
which  one  might  have  vainly  sought  for  in  the  presence 
of  those  she  strove  to  please. 

Ithuriel's  spear  had  touched  her  as  she  read — the 
magic  talisman  of  truth. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  197 

Yet  what  could  be  more  commonplace  or  less  satisfac 
tory  than  this  parting  letter,  in  which  "  the  favor  of  the 
loan  of  a  cashmere  shawl ! "  was  asked  in  the  beginning, 
and  a  contemptuous  pardon  for  all  transgressions  de 
manded  in  the  end  ?  The  pattern  of  the  corner  of  the 
drapery  was  not  completed,  but  an  hour's  use  of  the 
shawl,  he  thought,  would  suffice  to  remedy  the  defi 
ciency  ;  and,  the  picture  being  the  property  of  another, 
he  had  no  right,  he  said,  to  forward  it  otherwise  than 
perfect,  as  far  as  such  details  could  make  it  so. 

The  concluding  sentence  was  blistered  with  one  large 
tear  of  concentrated  rage,  and  not  of  affection,  as  she 
conceived  it — a  dangerous  tear,  as  are  all  such,  and  one 
speaking  little  for  the  hope  of  reconciliation  that  ani 
mated  her  gentle  woman's  breast. 

"  Madam,"  so  ran  the  finishing  phrase  of  this  brief 
and  iron-bound  note — which  yet  had  stirred  her  as 
never  yet  had  blandishment  of  love — "Madam — with 
the  best  wishes  for  the  serenity  of  your  surface  life,  and 
the  long  preservation  of  that  peerless  beauty  with  which 
your  happiness  and  the  wretchedness  of  others  have 
been  of  late  so  closely  connected,  and  with  thanks  for 
your  constant  courtesy  as  hostess  and  patroness — I  bid 
you  an  eternal  farewell ! " 

No  name,  either  from  oversight  or  intention,  followed 
this  valedictory,  yet  had  it  been  written  in  characters  of 
flame  it  could  not  have  glowed  more  vividly  before  her 
— "Mazeron  Rivers" — Alas!  alas!  was  it  not  inscribed 
as  indelibly  on  her  heart  as  the  word  "Calais"  on  that 
of  Queen  Mary? 

"  It  is  all  over,"  she  thought,  with  a  dreary  sigh,  as 
she  sat  with  clasped  hands  and  drooping  head,  gazing  on 


198  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

the  white  blank  wall  before  her — not  blanker  than  her 
feelings  as  she  mused  those  mournful  words,  "  It  is  all 
over,  and  better  so — for  their  sake — for  Genie's — for 
Ruif's  —  for  poor,  dear,  sensitive  Charlie's — even  for 
mine !  But  oh,  it  is  so  hard  to  turn  from  him  to  Raven- 
shaw,  and  I  feel  that  is  my  fate. 

"  There  may  be  one  little  coal  left,  but  I  cannot  find 
it,  grope  as  I  may  among  these  cold,  dead  ashes  of  my 
past.  Talk  of  eternal  love!  It  is  all  sheer  nonsense, 
and  when  once  a  passion  burns  down  to  cinders  and  dies, 
it  is  done  with  and  forever.  After  that  attachment  is  the 
substitute,  but  altars  to  Cupid  any  more  from  these  same 
cinders  are  out  of  the  question.  My  God !  how  dear  he 
still  is  to  me  !  How  fatally  dear ! " 

And  she  clasped  her  arms  tightly  across  her  bosom, 
and  threw  up  her  eyes  to  heaven,  surely  never  looking 
half  so  beautiful  before.  The  correspondence  of  Mazerou 
Rivers  has  not  been  an  exclusive  one  on  this  occasion. 
Anot'her  iron-bound  note  on  the  paper  obtained  from 
Sandpiper — whitey-brown,  with  a  strong  odor  of  rock 
candy  and  tobacco  lingering  about  it — had  found  its  way 
thither,  transported  on  a  silver  salver  by  the  hand  of 
Juba  to  the  sanctum  of  Major  Ravenshaw  about  sunset 
of  the  same  evening,  which,  after  reading  with  difficulty 
in  the  dying  light,  he  crumpled  in  his  hand,  and,  so 
securing  it,  descended  to  consult  with  Colonel  Kav- 
anaugh. 

He  found  that  worthy  lounging  in  the  umbra,  in 
company  with  a  highly  perfumed  Havana,  but  otherwise 
fancy  free.  Making  him  a  telegraphic  signal,  the  two 
gentlemen  strolled  in  a  leisurely  manner  and  profound 
silence  toward  the  beach,  until  -the  house  was  fairly 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  199 

distanced  and  all  fear  of  surreptitious  listeners  left 
behind. 

Major  Ravenshaw  then,  for  the  first  time  unclosing 
his  hand,  revealed  the  crumpled  note,  and  the  cause  of 
his  mysterious  conduct  so  amply  accounted  for  by  the 
contents,  when  once  unfolded. 

"  See  here,  Colonel  Kavanaugh,"  he  said,  while  a  faint 
smile  quivered  over  his  fine  features,  for  the  situation 
had  for  him  its  ludicrous  side.  "  See  here  what  Florizel, 
the  prince  of  Bohemia,  has  been  inditing  to  me.  The 
scamp  evidently  wants  to  make  a  hero  of  himself  at  my 
expense.  Of  course  I  cannot  and  will  not  fight  him 
here  under  Mrs.  Thermor's  very  nose — roof,  I  mean," 
and  handed  the  document  he  had  so  recently  received 
and  carefully  read  to  Colonel  Kavanaugh. 

"  Read  it  aloud,  Kavanaugh — that  is,  if  you  can  see — 
and  let  us  hear  how  it  sounds."  And  he  lit  the  cigar  he 
drew  from  his  breast  at  the  waning  fire  of  that  still  held 
between  the  teeth  of  his  companion,  who  read  aloud,  with 
this  incumbrance,  in  a  somewhat  mumbling  manner : 

"MAJOR  RAVENSHAW: — [It  begins  queerly;  why 
does  he  not  say  dear  sir  ?]  I  ask  at  your  hands  the  satis 
faction  that  one  gentleman  has  the  right  to  demand  of 
another  who  has  insulted  him — for  your  aggressive 
behavior  to  me  in  the  library  of  Birk-braes — and  in  the 
presence  of  Mrs.  Thermor  [the  infernal  puppy  !]  I  hope 
it  is  not  necessary  to  urge  the  greatest  possible  expedi 
tion  and  secrecy  in  this  matter,  on  a  gentleman  of  your 
calling ;  and  I  must  further  beg  you  (irregular  as  may  be 
this  proceeding)  to  dispense  with  seconds — or  yourself 
procure  one  for  me — as  I  have  no  friends  in  this  region. 


200  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

[The  devil !  what  right  has  he  to  expect  friends  ?    A 
paltry  artist !] 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself,  very  indig 
nantly,  your  foeman, 

"MAZERON  MARK  RIVERS." 

""What  a  long  tail  our  cat  carries."  And  with  this 
remark  the  reader  handed  the  letter  to  its  owner. 

"  Now,  what  in  the  world  am  I  to  do,  Kavanaugh  ? 
I  have  been  too  long  out  there,"  nodding  westwardly, 
"  where  men  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  they  can,  and 
where  white  men  are  too  scarce  to  kill  one  another — all 
forming  a  league  against  wild  beasts  and  Indians,  to  be 
willing  to  stand  up  and  be  pinked  or  shot  at  like  a 
German  student.  And  yet  I  don't  want  to  hurt  the 
fellow's  feelings  by  refusing;  I  don't,  indeed.  Do  ad 
vise  me." 

"  You  forget  that  you  have  not  yet  deigned  to  make 
me  any  explanation  as  to  the  cause  of  the  feud,"  said 
Colonel  Kavanaugh,  flinging  the  stump  of  his  cigar  away 
and  drawing  himself  up  a  little  stiffly.  "  Under  such 
circumstances  my  advice  would  be  little  worth,  if  indeed, 
useful  at  all." 

"  Why,  really,  I  don't  know  that  it  would  be  exactly 
fair  on  the  fellow's  own  account  to  do  that,  for  you  see 
how  much  stress  he  seems  to  lay  in  this  silly  note  (just 
such  as  a  woman  dressed  up  in  man's  clothes  would  con 
sider  a  challenge)  on  secrecy.  He  feels  mean,  of  course, 
after  behaving  as  he  did,  and  I  pity  him ;  but  I  suppose 
I  was  aggravating." 

"  Why  what  on  earth  did  you  do  to  the  Marmoset  ? " 
said  Colonel  Kavanaugh  impatiently.  "  What  could  you 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  201 

have  done?  Did  you  ridicule  his  simpering  picture 
before  Isabella,  or  charge  upon  his  old  lay  figure  with 
your  society  sword  ?  I  mean  that  ridiculous  sword-cane 
appendage,  or — " 

"  Come,  come,  Colonel,"  said  Major  Ravenshaw,  laugh 
ing,  as  he  reddened  slightly,  "  I  can't  permit  you  to  ridi 
cule  my  trusty  sword,  whatever  else  you  may  do.  King 
Arthur  never  liked  his  '  excalibus '  any  better  than  I  do 
my  Toledo  blade — for  such  it  is.  It  has  destroyed  more 
wild  '  varmints,'  panthers,  cats,  wolves,  and  the  like,  than 
any  other  bit  of  steel  in  the  regiment,  and  I  never  carry 
any  other  weapon  at  home  or  abroad.  But  human  blood 
has  never  yet  soiled  its  peerless  blade,  and  I  trust  never 
will.  It  was  not  a  battle-blade  you  know,  and  I  have 
the  greatest  horror  of  taking  human  life  anywhere  else 
than  on  the  foughten  field.  There,  of  course,  it  is  all 
right,  legitimate  and  never  to  be  regretted. 

"  But  speaking  of  my  sword,  did  you  ever  see  a  better 
tempered  bit  of  steel  than  it  is?  You  will  say  'just  like 
its  master/  "  and  he  drew  it  smiling  from  its  scabbard, 
and  waved  it  around  the  colonel's  head  with  the  glee  of 
a  boy  exhibiting  a  favorite  toy — waved  it  indeed,  un 
consciously  as  it  seemed,  so  near  the  celebrated  brown, 
curly  wig  that  had.  there  been  any  vitality  in  the  hair  it 
must  have  bristled,  and  as  it  was  the  keen,  old  gray  eyes 
snapped  and  blinked  before  its  blinding  light. 

"  It  is  a  splendid  bit  of  steel.  I  vow,"  said  Colonel 
Kavanaugh,  making  an  excuse  of  his  admiration  for  the 
shining  weapon  to  reach  forth  his  hand  for  it,  take  it, 
and  bend  it  so  the  two  extremities  met  with  a  vague  hope 
of  snapping  it  in  two.  Then  suddenly  suffering  it  to 
spring  back  again  to  its  slender  length,  he  seized  the 


202  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

scabbard  and  returned  it  safely  to  its  abiding  place,  and 
to  its  owner's  hand  as  well,  with  the  significant  words : 

"  But,  speaking  of  your  sword,  other  matters  have  been 
forgotten  or  overlooked.  This  boy  and  his  absurd  chal 
lenge  l  par  exemple !'  Do  tell  me  what  it  is  all  about. 
As  Isabella's  name  has  been  introduced,  I  begin  to  think 
that  it  behooves  me  to  know." 

"Well,  so  it  does,  perhaps.  Yes;  I  see  what  you 
mean  exactly.  Now  listen  then,"  and  he  lowered  his 
hitherto  somewhat  excited  voice.  "  Of  course,  on  such 
a  subject  the  profoundest  mystery  must  prevail,  or  that 
boy  Ruffin  will  be  in  the  melee  before  we  can  prevent  it. 
He  is  all  fire,  we  know.  It  was  simply  this :  on  the  day 
we  returned  from  duck-shooting — yesterday,  wasn't  it? 
— -just  as  Ruffin  entered  the  gate  of  the  grounds,  and  you 
were  seeking  Mrs.  Thermor  to  announce  his  advent,  I 
chanced  to  pass  the  library  window,  never  dreaming  she 
was  there,  heard  voices,  hers  stopped,  and  naturally 
turned  in,  to  find  the  young  miscreant  making  violent  love 
to  Isabella.  I  saw  her  from  the  open  window  as  I  en 
tered,  pale  as  death,  doing  her  best  to  escape  from  his 
insolent  grasp." 

"  Grasp  ?  you  astonish  me,  Ravenshaw !  What  audac 
ity — young  Rivers !  Are  you  certain  ?  Upon  my  word, 
I  think  I  am  the  proper  person — "  and  he  scowled 
fearfully. 

"  He  does  not  agree  with  you,  it  seems,"  said  Major 
Ravenshaw,  dryly,  "nor  yet  might  Isabella;  nor  will 
you  think  so  yourself,  I  fancy,  when  you  have  heard  the 
particulars  of  the  affair,  to  which  I  pray  you  give  your 
close  attention  ;"  and,  walking  him  away  still  farther  from 
the  house,  as  if  in  the  excess  of  caution  he  suspected  the 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  203 

breeze  from  the  bay  of  some  evil  intention  of  tale-bear 
ing,  nor  was  he  far  wrong  there,  the  Major  related,  as 
succinctly  as  possible,  the  whole  scene  as  it  had  transpired 
in  the  library  after  his  advent,  to  his  surprised  yet  some 
what  mollified  companion. 

"  You  were  rather  hard  upon  the  poor  young  fellow  I 
think  myself/'  said  the  old  officer,  who  was  now  and 
then  as  just  as  Richelieu  imagined  himself  always  to  be 
— "  rather  hard ;  such  words  as  you  employed  can't  be 
got  over  by  any  one  above  the  condition  of  a  boot-black 
or  a  free  negro;  and  after  all,  to  be  plain  with  you, 
Ravenshaw,  Isabella  has  herself  to  thank" — here  he 
paused  abruptly  and  gnawed  his  nether  lip  in  a  spirit  of 
sudden  pretended  discretion,  but  out  of  the  corners  of  his 
sly  old  eyes  he  saw  with  satisfaction  that  the  hint  had 
told. 

"Herself  to  thank,  Colonel  Kavanaugh?"  and  the 
dark  eyes  of  Ravenshaw  flashed  fire,  and  a  tremor  as  of 
sheet-lightning  in  a  summer  cloud  passed  over  his  fine 
features.  "Surely  you  are  censorious  if  you  mean  to 
attach  blame  in  this  affair  to  Isabella  Thermor.  You 
cannot  mean  to  allege  coquetry  on  her  part,  or  to  give 
me  the  impression  that  she  has  encouraged  this  popinjay 
to  make  her  such  advances  ? " 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  that  I  don't  mean  just  what  you 
think,  Ravenshaw,"  laying  his  hand  on  the  arm  of  his 
companion,  "  and  yet,  like  you ;  come,  be  quiet  now,  I 
consider  our  Isabella  (I  suppose  that  is  the  idea  now) 
'  chaste  as  the  icicle  that  hangs  on  Dian's  temple/  as  the 
old  swan  sang.  Yes,  sir ;  the  moon  of  Rome  if  you  will 
— but  flirt  she  did — and  had  a  right  to,  and  my  two  eyes 
are  witnesses  that  with  no  such  intention  on  her  part  this 


204  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

green  painter  has  been  victimized.  I  pity  the  boy,  and 
so,  I  believe,  does  Mademoiselle,  who,  like  me,  observes 
everything  and  holds  her  peace." 

"Notwithstanding  which  habitual  discretion  on  the 
part  of  both,  she  seems  to  have  communicated  to  you 
the  result  of  her  observations,"  said  Major  Ravenshaw, 
with  a  sarcastic  curl  of  the  lip.  "  Well  said  the  proverb, 
'  Deliver  me  from  my  friends,  and  from  my  enemies  I 
will  defend  myself/  " 

"  You  are  too  hasty,  Ravenshaw,"  said  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh,  with  his  peculiarly  dry,  disagreeable  smile  and 
gleam  of  the  eye,  both  evincing  on  his  part  intense  satis 
faction  at  the  success  of  some  social  scheme  of  discom 
fiture  to  friend  or  foe ;  "  too  hasty  by  half.  Nice  little 
thing  as  Mademoiselle  is,  she  has  too  much  sense  to  ap 
proach  me  confidentially.  In  her  country  the  mark  of 
caste  is  understood  and  seldom  violated.  She  is  not  of 
our  class  at  all,  and  she  knows  it,  and  with  true  self-re 
spect  never  surpasses  her  limits.  But  I  read  all  women 
instinctively  that  fall  in  my  way ;  they  are  as  clear  as 
rock-crystal  to  my  eyes,  and  I  have  been  both  saddened 
and  amused  watching  the  struggles  of  that  poor  little 
tender  thing,  and  Isabella's  high-handed  manner  of 
taking  tribute.  It  was  no  more,  of  course,  and  all  beau 
tiful  women  are  entitled  to  it,  but  most  men  have  more 
brains  than  our  little  Parisian,  the  veriest  candle-moth ! 

"  But  there  is  no  sense  in  such  digression.  The  long 
and  short  of  it  is,  you  must  apologize,  particularly  as 
you  say  Isabella  exonerated  him  from  all  but  an  earnest 
entreaty  to  be  heard." 

Major  Ravenshaw  stood  for  a  moment  as  if  weighing 
the  matter,  tearing  the  note  he  held  in  several  pieces 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  205 

as  he  pondered,  and  giving  the  fragments  softly,  each 
one  in  turn,  to  the  evening  breeze  then  sweeping  the  bay. 

"A  man  that  has  been  so  long  among  the  Seminoles, 
and  fought  as  bravely  as  you  have  done,  my  dear  sir, 
could  never  be  suspected  for  one  moment  of  showing  the 
white  feather,"  said  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  encouragingly 
perhaps — mistaking  the  drift  of  his  companion's  musings 
— or  perhaps  only  following  the  bent  of  his  natural  in 
clinations  in  lodging  a  Parthian  dart ;  or  haply,  on  second 
thought  willing  to  foment  discord  between  the  lovers  of 
his  Helen,  which  it  had  been  his  first  impulse  to  allay,  as 
a  man  and  gentleman. 

Major  Ravenshaw  laughed  grimly.  The  idea  seemed 
somewhat  to  amuse  him,  as  though  one  ray  of  the  treach 
erous  color  could  lurk  among  his  eagle  plumage. 

Yet  he  only  said,  "A  white  feather  was  however  a  good 
omen  at  the  battle  of  Ivry,  Kavanaugh." 

"  Of  course  I  jested,  Major ;  do  whatever  you  can  to 
hush  the  matter  up.  That  is  all ;  for  Isabella's  sake,  for 
the  children's.  Women  of  her  age  are  rendered  ridicu 
lous  by  affairs  of  this  sort.  It  is  different  with  the 
young." 

And  again  Mr.  Ravenshaw  flushed  to  the  roots  of  his 
hair.  "  Of  her  age  indeed !  His  beloved,  his  peerless 
Isabella,  his  own  betrothed — for  was  she  not  such  at  last  ? 
And  had  not  the  affair  at  the  library  been  so  far  fortunate 
for  him  that  it  had  lessened  his  probation  for  a  fortnight?  " 

But  this  was  not  yet  to  be  spoken  of  even  to  Colonel 
Kavanaugh ;  so  he  only  said  in  response  to  a  portion  of 
the  last  remark  of  that  moralizing  officer : 

"  Rest  assured  I  will  do  whatever  is  best  .for  her  and 
them,  as  for  myself  also.  I  was  only  reflecting  on  the 


206  A    DOUBLE    WEDDIXG;    OR, 

awkwardness  of  the  situation  and  whole  proceeding,  and 
making  up  my  mind  how  best  to  leave  no  traces.  We 
can  never  be  sure  of  the  honor  of  these  foreigners,  you 
know.  They  are  so  vain  where  women  are  concerned — 
so  boastful ;  but  standing  here,  I  have  resolved  not  to 
put  my  hand  to  paper  at  all,  and,  disagreeable  as  it  will 
be,  rather  to  apologize  in  person — I  feel  more  like  caning 
him,  however,  for  his  impudence,  if  truth  be  told.  The 
audacious  monkey  !  to  presume  to  declare  himself  to  Isa 
bella  Ruffin  !  to  the  magnificent  Mrs.  Thermor ! " 

And  the  sword-cane  was  stricken  hard  upon  the  ground, 
clanging  as  it  came  in  contact  with  some  pebble  hidden 
in  the  sward,  clanging  in  unison,  perhaps,  or  sympathy 
with  its  master's  angry  spirit. 

"When  will  you  seek  Rivers?"  hazarded  Colonel 
Kavanaugh  ;  "  would  you  like  me  to  accompany  you  ?  " 

"  Thanks ;  I  will  go  alone  and  sleep  probably  upon  the 
resolution.  In  the  meantime,  we  shall  see  him,  I  sup 
pose,  at  a  distance  in  the  parlor,  for  Mrs.  Thermor,  in  the 
great  goodness  of  her  heart,  has,  she  tells  me,  through 
Juba,  invited  him  to  meet  her  friends  this  evening.  I 
may  have  an  opportunity,  you  know,  of  accosting  him  on 
the  veranda.  It  is  the  first  time  I  ever  had  such  a  task 
to  perform.  We  shall  see." 

By  this  time  the  twilight  was  deepening  down,  and  the 
red  tints  in  the  west  fading  into  grayness,  so  that  the 
horizon  seemed  merged  in  the  tranquil  sea  on  one  side 
and  on  the  other  in  infinite  space  and  vagueness.  It  was 
almost  night  when  the  steps  of  the  companions  who  had 
so  long  held  perturbed  discourse  were  directed  towards 
the»  illuminated  mansion. 

Among  many  others,  Mademoiselle  Minande  was  in 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  207 

the  drawing-room,  probably  for  the  last  time,  for  her 
trunks  were  packed  for  a  journey,  the  commencement  of 
which  depended  merely  on  the  motions  of  a  little  steamer 
not  always  regular  in  its  returns  to  Sandpiper,  its  place 
of  landing,  as  hers  of  departure.  It  might,  or  it  might 
not,  come  on  the  morrow — erratic  as  it  was — but  she  was 
prepared  to  go.  Ay,  more,  to  surrender  all  that  life  had 
held  to  her  of  the  fairest  and  dearest  in  that  trite  prepa 
ration. 

"  It  was  all  over  now."  Like  Mrs.  Thermor,  she  took 
refuge  in  this  common  phrase  from  her  utter  desolation. 
She  who  spoke  it  this  time,  however,  was  different  from 
the  first  who  had  uttered  it,  with  regard  to  Mazeron 
Rivers,  inasmuch  as  she  was  used  to  self-sacrifice  and 
disappointment,  though  gifted  with  rare  pertinacity  of  will 
and  elasticity  of  spirit,  and  she  could  lay  this  dream  to 
rest — where  so  many  others  slumbered  along  with  her 
early  hopes  of  peace,  pride  and  happiness. 

She  would  seek  Mazeron  Rivers — except  to  serve  and 
save — no  more  through  life,  and  the  little  knitted  purse 
with  its  mysterious  contents  would  be  all  left  to  mock 
how  a  great  hope  had  grown  and  strengthened  and  per 
ished,  a  great  passion  been  stranded  on  the  shores  of  arid 
desolation  and  social  exile. 

Yet  despite  these  resolutions^which  had  now  become 
almost  records  of  her  being  (for  was  she  not  already  put 
ting  them  into  effect  by  act  and  deed?) — despite  such 
stern  resolves — one  who  had  taken  the  trouble  to  observe 
her  closely  might  have  seen  an  inquiring,  wandering  look 
of  the  large  purple  eyes  toward  the  door  of  entrance  as 
guest  after  guest  appeared,  for  that  night,  owing  to  the 
unexpected  advent  of  friends,  high  festival  was  being 
held  at  Birk-braes. 


208  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

The  evening  wore  on  as  all  such  evenings  do,  with 
much  superficial  gayety  to  the  few,  and  real  ennui  to  the 
many,  and,  as  usual,  the  graciousness,  grace  and  beauty 
of  Mrs.  Therruor  were  the  common  theme.  To  these 
comments  the  attentions  of  the  magnificent  Major  Ra- 
venshaw  added  fresh  enthusiasm,  for  who  so  much  ad 
mired  by  women  as  she  who  bears  away  the  palm  of 
manly  admiration  ? 

Exceptions  do,  indeed,  occur  to  this  style  of  amiable 
toadyism.  There  are  rancorous  toads  as  well  as  harmless 
ones,  and  among  these  we  are  obliged  to  enumerate  our 
acquaintance,  Miss  Clara  Lindsay,  who,  while  she  flat 
tered  and  frowned,  also  knew  well  how  to  spit  out  venom 
on  occasions. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  an  old  fool  more  desperately  and 
absurdly  in  love  with  another  than  is  Major  Ravenshaw 
with  our  *  Landlady/  as  Ruffin  insists  upon  calling  his 
mother  by  way  of  ridiculing  her  eifort  to  take  on  English 
style,  you  know,  and  the  airs  of  a  Duchess  in  her  castle, 
where  old  Colonel  Kavanaugh  acts  as  seneschal?  Do 
observe,  Miss  Minande!  It  is  as  good  as  a  vaudeville. 
He  is  absolutely  snuffing  up  the  odor  of  her  sandal-wood 
fan — as  a  cat  snuifs  veronica — now  that  her  back  is 
turned  (such  overt  sensuality  I  never  before  dreamed 
of!)  Isn't  that  by-play  fine,  though?  Do  you  re 
mark  !  She  certainly  has  eyes  in  the  back  of  her  head 
or  her  dimpled  neck — which  he  looks  as  if  he  wanted  to 
kiss  or  bite — for  while  she  continues  to  talk  with  mamma 
she  quietly  puts  back  her  hand  and  withdraws  her  fan, 
smiling  as  she  does  so,  though  never  turning  her  head  an 
atom ;  and  how  he  slyly  kisses,  old  ostrich  that  he  is — 
with  his  head  hidden  in  the  sand — both  hand  and  fan  as 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  209 

he  relinquishes  the  latter ;  the  truth  is,  she  is  afraid  he 
will  break  it,  and  he  thinks  nobody  sees  him  !  But  she 
does  not  flutter  an  eye-lash,  for  she  does  not  love  him  a 
particle !  Now  there  is  self-command !  "  speaking  sar 
castically — "  almost  equal  to  your  own,  Mademoiselle — 
yet  I  saw  you  start  a  little  while  ago — I  did,  indeed, 
when  young  Marlow  entered.  It  was  not  he,  however, 
so  it  passed  away,"  and  she  laughed. 

"  I  often  start,  Miss  Lindsay.  It  is  one  of  my  bad 
habits — the  remnant  perhaps  of  long  suffering." 

She  spoke  so  gravely  and  so  gently  that  the  heart  of 
her  tormentor  misgave  her,  and  she  carried  her  sorry  jest 
no  further,  but  lapsed  herself  into  earnestness ;  and  only 
partially  underst  nding  the  interest  Mademoiselle  Mi- 
nande  felt  in  Mr.  Rivers,  she  introduced  carelessly  the 
subject  of  his  strange  immurement  and  exile  from  society, 
too  marked  even  if  brief,  not  to  have  a  meaning. 

"  I  suppose  that  you  believe  with  the  rest,  Mademoi 
selle,  that  he  is  engaged  with  his  picture  and  all  that 
stuff.  I  don't.  I  know  better ;  there  is  something  in 
the  wind.  See  what  it  wafted  me  " — deliberately  draw 
ing  from  her  pocket,  two  fragments  of  the  note  that 
Major  Ravenshaw  had  torn  in  pieces  and  scattered  to  the 
breeze. 

"  Read  it,  Mademoiselle,  and  see  what  you  make  of  it ; 
see  how  nicely  it  dovetails,"  and  she  laid  it  together  on 
the  knee  of  her  neighbor,  who  turned  her  head  resolutely 
from  the  temptation  before  her,  for,  at  a  glance,  she  had 
recognized  the  handwriting  of  Mazeron  Rivers. 

"  It  was  not  intended  for  me,  Miss  Lindsay,  and  I 
cannot  read  it;  no,  no,  indeed.     Resume  it,  I  entreat; 
this  with  me  is  a  point  of  honor." 
13 


210  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

"  Not  with  me,  however.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
social  salvage,  and  to  my  share  came  this  treasure-trove, 
borne  on  the  wings  of  the  night  breeze  to  my  very  feet 
as  I  was  straying  around  the  circle  in  quest  of  roses  for 
my  hair.  It  is  a  challenge,  Mademoiselle,  a  part  of 
one ;  and  they  fight,  no  doubt,  to-morrow.  There,  the 
secret  is  out !  " 

"  Helas !  que  me  dites  vous,  Mademoiselle,  a  chal 
lenge  !  and  from  him — from  Mazeron  ?  "  and  she  clasped 
her  hands  piteously. 

They  had  spoken  hitherto  in  French,  but  the  last 
words  had  been  uttered  in  English  by  Mademoiselle,  as 
if  reversing  the  usual  order  of  things  her  soul  found 
the  greatest  utterance  in  the  unaccustomed  tongue. 

"For  mercy's  sake,  Mademoiselle,  be  not  so  easily 
alarmed,"  said  Miss  Lindsay,  still  speaking  in  her  glib, 
inelegant  French.  "  Why,  it  is  the  best  joke  in  the 
world.  He  only  asks  an  apology,  which  will  be  offered 
him  when  he  is  just  about  ready  to  die  of  seclusion  and 
starvation ;  for  I  had  a  confidential  chat  with  Juba,  aided 
by  the  gift  of  a  Spanish  dollar,  and  he  disclosed  to  me 
the  secrets  of  the  prison-house !  He  is  banished  by  order 
of  the  Queen.  He  is  enraged  with  all  the  world,  and 
lives  upon  crackers  and  cheese  that  he  imports  from 
Sandpiper,  merely  because  Mrs.  Thermor  refused  him 
formally,  and  Major  Ravenshaw  is  accepted  in  his  stead. 
They  had  a  scene  in  the  library,  I  know,  from  the  best 
authority,  on  the  day  of  Ruffin's  arrival,  and  have  all 
been  at  daggers'  points  ever  since.  Old  Kavanaugh  eggs 
them  on,  of  course,  in  the  hope  that  the  two  lovers  will 
make  Kilkenny  cats  of  one  another.  You  know  the  story, 
I  suppose,  Mademoiselle.  No !  what  a  pity ;  for,  as  \vc 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  211 

say  in  English,  •'thereto  hangs  a  tale.'  Yes,  two  of 
them.  Wei],  to  proceed — " 

"  But,  Miss  Lindsay,"  interrupting  her  without  apol 
ogy  or  any  thought  of  what  she  had  to  tell ;  "  why,  if  all 
this  has  occurred,  does  he  not  instantly  leave  Birkbraes  ? 
Where  is  the  pride  that  was  once  so  dear  to  him?  Where 
is  his  sense  of  manhood  ?  Pardon,  Mademoiselle ;  I  am 
deeply  concerned  for  this  poor  young  compatriot  of  mine. 
Oh,  sorely  grieved."  And  her  large  eyes  filled  with 
tears. 

"  You  take  it  so  very  seriously,  Mademoiselle.  Now 
to  me  it  is  a  very  funny  situation  to  be  shut  up  in  a  for 
tified  summer  house  (he  has  pistols  on  his  mantel-shelf, 
Juba  tells  me,  and  is  whetting  up  an  old  sword),  waiting 
for  what  will  never,  never  come!  There  will  be  no 
fighting,  I  fancy ;  I  was  only  jesting  about  that,  but  per 
haps  it  would  be  as  well  for  you  to  represent  to  Mr. 
Rivers  the  folly  of  his  conduct,  and  save  appearances. 
I  do  really  like  him  very  much,  as  I  know  you  do,  and 
when  his  craziness  is  over  he  will  thank  those  who  con 
trol  him  now." 

"  It  is  a  thing  in  which  I  cannot  interfere,  Miss 
Lindsay,"  said.  Mademoiselle  Minande,  with  dignity, 
collecting  herself  to  speak  by  a  strong  effort:  "the 
gentlemen  of  my  land  when  aggrieved  have  usually 
recourse  to  the  duello.  It  is  our  knightly  code,  and 
there  are  injuries  that  cannot  otherwise  be  redressed. 
If  such  an  insult  has  been  offered  to  Mr.  Rivers,  he  must 
as  a  gentleman  resent  it  after  and  according  to  his  own 
ideas  of  honor,  and  I  know  him  too  well,  have  known 
him  too  long,  to  believe  that  he  is  aggressive  or  quarrel 
some  after  the  manner  of  the  vulgar.  His  situation  here 


212  A  'DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

has  been  a  trying  one,  fraught  with  dangerous  tempta 
tions,  and  he  was  never  strong,  I  know  this  of  old, 
where  flattery  and  affection  were  the  weapons  employed. 
Few  men  are  so,  even  when  better  poised  and  older  far 
than  he;"  and  she  glanced  unconsciously  at  Major 
Ravenshaw,  just  then  employed  in  fanning  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor  vigorously.  "  If,  then,  my  friend  has  felt  himself 
compelled  to  ask  satisfaction  for  injuries  either  inflicted 
or  imagined,  his  course  must  not  be  impeded,  and  I,  who 
love  him  very  tenderly — yes,  almost  as  a  sister  might 
love  a  brother — would,  if  needs  be,  stand  by  him  on  the 
ground,  load  his  pistol,  and  time  his  shot,  in  the  absence 
of  all  male  friends — unsex  myself  even  and  be  his  second 
— rather  than  see  him  tamely  bear  rebuke  or  confront 
dishonor ;  and  now,  no  more  of  this. 

"  Young  girl !  it  is  a  cause  for  tears,  not  smiles,  if  rightly 
understood.  A  bleeding  heart  has  been  crushed  to  dust 
and  trampled  on,  and  vengeance  is  demanded  for  such 
barbarity." 

Her  marble  cheek  was  flushed,  her  purple  eyes,  dilated 
and  dark  with  passion,  shone  like  twin  stars.  Her  voice, 
vibrant  and  deep  with  feeling,  went  to  the  brain,  rather 
than  heart,  of  her  who  sat  and  listened,  marvelling  as 
greatly  as  though  a  playful  fawn  had  bounded  forth  a 
lion,  wondering  and  yet  admiring. 

"  I  can't  see  what  there  is  about  that  shallow-pated 
artist  to  make  women  love  him  so,"  thought  Clara  Lind 
say,  after  Mademoiselle  had  gone,  swiftly  and  silently 
from  her  side,  from  the  parlor. 

"  He  cares  for  nothing  but  himself,  I  do  believe ;  and 
yet  I  know  three  who  would  almost  die  for  him ! "  And 
the  lady  sighed. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  213 

She  was  not  philosopher  enough  to  know  that  nature 
provides  for  her  creatures  according  to  their  needs — not 
their  wants. 

The  sloth  has  his  mournful  cry  wherewith  to  soften 
the  malignant  intentions  of  his  enemies ;  the  chameleon 
her  slimy  tongue  which  she  thrusts  forth  in  quest  of  the 
necessary  insect  food  which  her  sedentary  habits  would 
otherwise  place  beyond  her  reach ;  the  snake  his  charm 
wherewith  to  wile  the  otherwise  unattractable  bird  into 
his  very  jaws ;  and  the  cuttle-fish  his  inky  fluid,  darken 
ing  the  water  around  him  while  he  makes  his  languid 
escape  from  his  foes.  But  beyond  all  these  are  the 
devices  of  nature  for  the  support  and  attractiveness  of 
the  inefficients. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Pardon  me,  I  pray  you, 
I  thought  that  all  things  had  been  savage  here ! — SHAKESPEARE. 

Think  not  I  love  him,  though  I  ask  for  him ; 
'Tis  but  a  peevish  boy.— SHAKESPEARE. 

ON  the  following  morning,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  des 
patched  his  breakfast  and  papers  (the  last  on  the 
piazza,  in  the  society  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh),  Major 
Ravenshaw  evinced  signs  of  perplexity — first,  by  clear 
ing  his  throat  repeatedly,  and  secondly,  by  wiping  his 
moist  forehead  with  his  white  cambric  handkerchief,  of 
dimensions  more  suitable  to  those  of  a  flag  of  truce  than 
the  peaceful  accessory  of  a  gentleman's  pocket. 

Lastly,  he  crushed  his  Panama  hat  down  very  firmly 
over  his  brains,  and,  placing  his  trusty  sword-cane  in  rest, 


214  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

he  evidenced  a  disposition  to  march  in  the  direction  of 
the  pavilion,  toward  which  his  face  was  set  steadfastly 
with  a  certain  desperation  in  its  expression  that  greatly 
amused  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  as  he  sat  apparently  absorbed 
in  the  morning's  "Chronicle,"  fresh  from  Baltimore. 

A  slight  shaking  of  the  shoulder  of  that  gentleman  as 
of  one  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  inward  chuckle  might  have 
been  observed  by  any  person  suspecting  the  truth,  but 
the  face  was  a  very  grave  one  that  he  turned  upon  Major 
Ravenshaw,  whose  question,  abruptly  put,  seemed  for  the 
first  time  to  arouse  him  from  the  perusal  of  his  carefully 
conned  columns. 

"  Do  you  observe  any  signs  of  life  about  the  fortress 
this  morning,  my  dear  Colonel,  or  in  other  words  do  you 
suppose  Prince  Florizel  has  arisen  from  his  rosy  couch  at 
this  early  hour  ?  In  short,  might  I  venture,  do  you  think, 
to  pop  in  upon  the  offended  majesty  of  Bohemia  thus  un 
expectedly,  so  soon  after  the  morning's  meal — which  by- 
the-by  he  did  not  deign  to  honor  by  his  presence — in 
order  to  proffer  my,  ahem  !  apology  ?" 

"  I  conceive  you  safe  in  your  sally,  Major  Ravenshaw, 
for  I  saw  him  washing  his  face  before  breakfast  at  his 
chamber  window,  hand  over  hand,  like  a  kitten ;  and  I 
observed  later  that  he  emerged  from  his  intrenchment  to 
hang  out  a  towel  to  dry  on  a  rose-bush  !  His  toilet  ap 
paratus  is  simple  enough,  it  must  be  confessed ;  and  to  do 
the  fellow  justice,  and  it  is  always  a  good  sign,  he  is  an 
early  riser ! " 

"  I  will  hazard  the  step  then,  if  only  to  relieve  the  poor 
fellow  from  duress  vile  and  restore  him  to  his  native  ele 
ment.  I  go,  armed  too  with  a  conciliating  message  from 
Isabella,  whose  verbal  invitation  to  join  her  guests  last 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  215 

night  he  verbally  refused  through  Juba  when  he  sent 
back  the  cashmere  shawl  he  had  been  painting  at — (what 
else  could  one  say  of  such  portraiture  ?) 

"  In  ray  joint  capacity  of  apologist  and  minister  pleni 
potentiary,  my  good  sir,  wish  me  all  success." 

To  which  request  a  diffusive  answer  was  the  sole  answer 
in  the  shape  of  a  flourish  of  the  newspaper. 

The  Major  went  forth  carolling  a  little  song  of  Gar- 
rick's  set  to  a  quaint  old  air  which  bubbled  up  in  his 
fancy  at  the  moment  as  appropriate  perhaps  to  the  situa 
tion.  I  believe,  after  -all,  the  song  was  by  Colley  Gibber : 

"  You  gave  me  last  week  a  young  linnet, 

Shut  up  in  a  fine  golden  cage, 
Yet  how  sad  the  poor  thing  was  within  it, 
And  how  he  did  flutter  and  rage. 

"  Then  he  moped  and  he  pined  that  his  wings  were  confined, 

And  I  opened  the  door  of  his  den, 
When  so  happy  was  he  that  because  he  was  free 
He  came  to  his  cage  back  again." 

As  he  concluded  the  last  stanza  of  his  stave,  he  found 
himself  at  the  door  of  the  pavilion,  on  which  he  tapped 
lightly  with  the  ivory  knob  of  his  sword-cane — then, 
after  a  somewhat  anxious  pause,  more  heavily  and  em 
phatically  with  the  same  instrument. 

In  answer  to  this  noisy  summons  the  door  was  at  last 
opened  by  a  young  man — pallid,  unshaven  and  dishevelled 
— dressed  in  a  gray  linen  blouse,  considerably  daubed 
with  paint,  and  holding  in  one  hand  a  pallet  and  brush 
still  filled  with  color.  The  inmate  of  the  "fortress" 
frowned  and  drew  back  at  the  sight  of  Major  Kavenshaw, 
whose  polite  salutation  he  haughtily  returned;  then, 
flinging  the  door  wide  open,  uncoupled  with  any  invita 
tion  to  enter,  he  walked  quietly  back  and  reseated  him- 


216  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

self  before  his  picture,  awaiting,  however,  with  suspended 
brush,  for  his  visitor  to  take  the  initiative. 

"I  have  come,  Mr.  Rivers,"  said  Major  Ravenshaw, 
leaning  on  his  cane  carelessly,  and  without  removing  his 
hat,  "to  answer  in  person  your  note  of  yesterday  by 
proffering  you  the  apology  you  require,  and  which  my 
own  sense  of  what  is  due  from  man  to  man  renders 
necessary  to  my  self-respect. 

"  In  a  few  words  I  wish  to  express  my  regret  for  what 
has  occurred  between  us,  Mrs.  Thermor's  explanation  of 
affairs  having  put  a  new  face  on  your  interview  v.'ith 
herself,  and,  in  short,  to  offer  you  my  hand." 

And  as  he  spoke  he  divested  his  hand  of  its  glove, 
and,  advancing  towards  the  artist,  stretched  forth  the 
member  in  question  suddenly.  But  before  he  had  meas 
ured  half  the  distance  of  the  room,  he  was  aware  that 
Mr.  Rivers  had  risen  from  his  chair  and  having  deliber 
ately  laid  aside  his  palette  and  brush,  stood  with  folded 
arms  before  him. 

"  It  is  not  enough,  Major  Ravenshaw,  that  you  express 
your  regret  for  your  unqualified  insults  to  me,"  replied 
Mazeron  Rivers,  in  clear,  cold  accents,  "but  Mrs. 
Thermor,  and  all  others  who  may  be  cognizant  of  your 
affronts  must  bear  witness  to  your  apology,  which  for 
itself  and  as  far  as  it  has  reference  to  our  two  individ 
ual  selves,  I  value  as  little  as  I  do  the  idle  wind  that 
sweeps  across  me  now." 

"Very  well,  sir;  I  will  go  and  bring  Mrs.  Thermor, 
who  will  cheerfully  obey  my  request  to  become  a  witness 
(the  only  one  required,  since  discretion,  save  in  one 
instance,  has  been  strictly  observed  regarding  the  scene  in 
the  library  on  account  of  all  concerned),  a  witness,  as  I 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON. 

have  said,  to  the  formal  apology  I  see  fit  to  make  you  on 
condition  that  your  challenge  be  withdrawn  and  that  you 
never  open  your  lips  about  that  lady  or  her  affairs  again." 

"You  misapprehend  me,  Major  Ravenshaw,"  coldly 
rejoined  Mr.  Rivers,  though  his  eyes  flashed  now,  and 
his  frame  quivered  with  excitement,  for  the  last  remark 
of  his  opponent  had  galled  him,  though  he  did  not  see  fit 
to  notice  it  in  his  reply.  "  You  greatly  misapprehend  me 
if  you  suppose  that,  after  the  treatment  I  have  received 
at  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Thermor,  I  can  or  will  ever  consent 
to  see  her  face  again.  No,  sir;  you  must  write  this 
apology,  so  that,  when  the  Atlantic  Ocean  rolls  between 
us,  I  may  not  be  maligned.  It  rests  with  me  to  show  it 
through  the  hands  of  friends  to  Mrs.  Thermor  or  others, 
as  I  may  see  fit  to  do.  With  you  will  I  make  no  con 
ditions." 

For  the  space  of  a  moment  Major  Ravenshaw,  still 
poised  on  his  cane,  stood  and  surveyed  his  interlo 
cutor  with  undisguised  astonishment,  not  unmixed  with 
indignation.  "  Cool,  upon  my  word ! "  he  muttered  at 
last ;  then,  speaking  in  louder  accents,  he  continued  : 

"  Hear  me,  Rivers,  and  try  and  be  reasonable  for  once. 
The  matter  is  not  one  that  honorable  men  should  wish  to 
see  perpetuated  even  in  memory.  A  lady  is  concerned ; 
were  it  for  myself  alone,  and  were  I  conscious  of  wrong, 
I  would  as  lief  write  as  speak  an  apology  before  the 
whole  world.  But  this  is  different.  Colonel  Kavanaugh 
shall  be  my  witness  that  I  apologize,  for  he  alone, 
beside  ourselves,  knows  of  this  difficulty.  Indeed,  I  left 
it  somewhat  to  his  decision  what  I  should  do.  Come, 
now,  be  rational  and  less  French.  As  to  your  absurd 
challenge,  I  decline  it  on  any  terms." 


218  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING:    OR, 

"  Then  I  pronounce  you  a  coward,  and  in  spite  of  your 
gray  hairs,  shall  proceed  to  chastise  you  wherever  we 
shall  meet  outside  of  these  immediate  premises.  I  give 
you  fair  warning,  old  man.  I  shall  wait  for  you  down 
at  Sandpiper." 

"  Boy,  are  you  mad  ? "  foamed  forth  the  Major,  and 
he  shook  his  cane  in  the  air.  "As  to  my  gray  hairs, 
you  curled  barber's  block,  I  would  not  give  them  for 
every  scented  lock  that  grows  upon  your  Bohemian 
addled  pate,  and  you  have  found  to  your  cost  how  differ 
ently  they  are  estimated  elsewhere,"  he  added,  with  a 
sneer. 

"  Drop  your  cane,  sir,  and  your  insults,  or  I  will  not 
answer  for  what  I  may  do,"  ground  Mazeron  Rivers, 
stolidly,  beneath  his  close-set  teeth. 

"No,  sir — at  no  bidding  of  yours;"  and  Major  Raven- 
shaw  advanced  fiercely  toward  the  artist,  who  stood 
confronting  him,  with  his  back  against  his  easel,  near 
the  chimney  corner. 

"  One  step  nearer  and  your  life  shall  answer  for  your 
insolence,"  exclaimed  Rivers,  now  excited  beyond  the 
powers  of  endurance  ;  and  reaching  back  his  hand  he 
took  from  the  mantle  one  of  a  pair  of  pistols  that  lay 
there  in  readiness,  probably  for  practice,  for  the  expected 
duello,  and  held  it  cocked  before  him.  As  the  scarlet 
rag  waved  by  the  tozadoz  exasperates  the  already  irate 
bull,  so  seemed  the  sight  of  the  small  silver-mounted 
Deringer  to  inflame  the  angry  Major  Ravenshaw  to 
madness. 

Drawing  his  trusty  sword-blade  from  its  scabbard,  and 
hurling  the  latter  to  the  floor,  while  with  his  disengaged 
hand  he  flung  his  glove  in  the  artist's  face,  he  leaped 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  219 

half  across  the  intervening  space,  his  hat  falling  off 
behind  him  as  he  advanced  with  his  face  inflamed  by 
passion,  and  brandishing  his  sword  not  three  feet  from 
the  breast  of  his  antagonist. 

Mazeron  Rivers  fired,  but  without  taking  deliberate 
aim,  and  missed  his  careless  mark.  Then,  while  in  the 
act  of  presenting  the  second  pistol  more  designedly,  he 
felt  himself  pierced  by  the  sword  of  his  opponent,  and 
wounded  to  the  life. 

The  drooping  hand  sent  the  ball  of  the  second  pistol 
through  the  floor  instead  of  the  heart  it  was  intended  for, 
and  a  moment  later  Rivers  had  fallen  back  bathed  in 
blood,  leaving  the  crimsoned  blade  in  the  hand  of  its 
master,  who  had  instantly  withdrawn  it  from  the 
wound  with  an  instinct  of  humanity,  perhaps  a  mistaken 
one. 

"  He  is  dead ! "  groaned  Major  Ravenshaw,  "  and  I 
have  killed  him.  Put  me  under  arrest." 

These  words  were  addressed  to  the  person  who  almost 
immediately  after  the  catastrophe  entered  the  door  of  the 
pavilion,  spectacles  on  nose,  and  newspaper  in  hand, 
having  heard  the  firing  from  his  safe  position  on  the 
piazza,  and  being  apparently  in  his  own  person  as  far  as 
possible  removed  from  the  popular  idea  of  an  officer  of 
justice. 

Everything  was  explained  by  the  condition  of  the 
bleeding  young  artist  and  the  words  that  Major  Raven 
shaw  had  uttered. 

Tacit  measures  were  about  to  be  adopted  by  the  two 
to  convey  the  unhappy  youth  to  his  bed  in  the  adjoining 
room,  when  again  the  door  opened  (for  Colonel  Kava- 
naugh,  even  in  that  moment  of  urgency,  had  closed  it 


220  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

behind  him  with  a  presence  of  mind  for  which  he  was 
remarkable),  and  very  quietly,  as  the  playwrights  say — 
to  them — entered  Mademoiselle. 

Her  eye  embraced  the  situation  in  one  sweep  of  its 
purple  iris,  and  the  mind  as  well  conceived  the  cause  of 
the  disaster,  somewhat  assisted  by  what  she  had  un 
willingly  listened  to  from  Miss  Lindsay  the  night 
before. 

She,  too,  had  heard  the  firing  from  her  chamber  win 
dow,  where  she  sat  engaged  with  a  book,  and  had  crossed 
the  garden,  always  deserted  at  that  hour  by  the  laborers, 
without  meeting  any  one  who  might  explain  its  cause,  too 
well  surmised  by  her  own  sinking  heart. 

How  quickly  she  must  have  come,  and  under  what 
pressure  of  anxiety,  her  heaving  bosom,  her  pale  and 
anxious  countenance  clearly  indicated. 

She  had  knocked  lightly,  and  receiving  no  answer,  yet 
hearing  within  the  confused  sound  of  voices,  had  entered 
unbidden,  and  without  stopping  to  ask  a  question,  had 
gone  straight  to  the  bleeding  form  which  the  two  gentle 
men  were  just  beginning  to  lift. 

At  a  signal  from  her  hand  they  desisted  in  their  effort ; 
and  kneeling  down  by  the  side  of  the  man  she  had  so 
loved  and  pitied,  she  tore  open  the  garments  that  covered 
his  heart,  and  calmly  examined  what  seemed  to  every  one 
a  death  wound — staunching  the  blood  with  her  handker 
chief  as  she  did  so,  and  feeling  about  the  region  of  the 
heart  for  some  evidence  of  vitality. 

"  Make  a  compress,  Colonel  Kavanaugh ;  give  him 
brandy ;  send  for  a  surgeon,"  she  said  in  a  cold,  mechan 
ical  voice,  that  seemed  another's,  so  changed  was  it  from 
her  own  quick,  vibrant  tones;  and  her  commands 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  221 

were  promptly  obeyed  by  the  bewildered  men  around 
her. 

Nor  until  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Mandamus — three  hours 
later — did  she  suffer  Mazeron  to  be  touched  or  herself  to 
leave  his  side. 

Sitting  beside  him  on  the  ground,  she  made  a  con 
tinued  pressure  upon  the  wound  that  effectually  staunched 
the  blood ;  and  when  he  came  she  had  the  satisfaction  of 
hearing  from  the  lips  of  the  physician  that  she  had  so 
far  saved  the  life  dearer  than  her  own. 

Yet  nothing  she  said  or  did  was  calculated  to  betray 
emotion  to  unobservant  eyes.  It  was  only  from  the  fixed 
pallor  of  her  face  and  its  locked  expression  that  this 
could  be  surmised,  and  at  a  time  of  such  anxiety  none 
paused  to  mark  the  look  that  froze  her  lineaments  to 
marble. 

It  was  not  until  after  Mazeron  had  been  surrendered 
to  the  hands  of  the  surgeon  and  his  assistant,  and  that 
she  found  herself  alone  in  the  atelier  (for  his  bed,  to 
which  they  had  at  last  removed  him,  was  in  the  small 
chamber  that  adjoined  it)  that  she  gave  way  to  one  brief, 
silent,  passionate  burst  of  tears,  followed  by  earnest  sup 
plications  to  the  Almighty  Father  in  behalf  of  him  she 
solely  loved. 

She  was  again  composed  and  waiting  to  be  sum 
moned1 — for  she  had  promised  Dr.  Mandamus  to  watch 
his  patient  until  he  should  return  in  the  afternoon — 
when  she  was  aware  of  the  presence  of  Major  Ravenshaw 
by  her  chair. 

"  This  is  a  wretched  business,  my  dear  young  lady,"  he 
said,  with  a  bitter  groan,  and  tears  burst  from  his  manly 
eyes,  honest,  if  no  more.  "A  wretched  business  ;  but  I 


222  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

thank  God  it  is  no  worse.  Don't  you,  Mademoiselle  ?  " 
eagerly. 

A  silent  shake  of  the  head — a  cold,  sad  smile — were 
her  only  answers.  But  she  turned  away  from  him,  with 
a  reflection  she  could  not  hide. 

"  It  could  scarcely  have  been  worse,"  she  thought. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,  Mademoiselle ;  I  am,  upon  my 
word.  If  I  can  do  anything,  command  me.  I  shall  not 
leave  here,  of  course,  until  the  matter  is  decided — of  life 
and  death,  I  mean.  But,  in  the  interval,  I  want  to  warn 
you,  as  does  Colonel  Kavauaugh,  to  communicate  nothing 
of  what  has  occurred  to  Mrs.  Thermor.  Her  feelings 
must  be  spared,  at  any  sacrifice,  you  know.  It  is  very 
important  that  she  should  remain  ignorant  of  the  exact 
situation  of  affairs,  or  of  the  condition  of  Mr.  Rivers. 
Promise  me  this,  Mademoiselle." 

"  I  promise  you."  And  again  the  pallid  lips  closed 
with  their  look  of  strong  woe,  so  fixed  and  calm  that  it 
deceived  the  superficial  observer  before  her  into  a  convic 
tion  of  her  hardness  or  her  indifference. 

"  Kavanaugh  is  all  at  sea  about  this  woman  and  her 
love  for  Rivers,"  he  thought.  "  Why  no  hired  hospital 
nurse  could  be  colder  or  more  entirely  collected.  I 
expected  a  storm  of  reproaches  when  I  entered,  but 
resolved  to  face  them  in  the  hope  of  saving  Isabella's 
feelings.  This  repose  is  inconceivable." 

"  How  do  you  feel  now,  my  dear  fellow  ?  "  asked  Dr. 
Mandamus  of  his  patient  when  he  returned  in  the  after 
noon,  having  left  Mademoiselle  in  charge  of  the  wounded 
man,  together  with  his  assistant,  and  delighted  to  find 
him  lying  with  open  eyes  and  indications  of  returned 
consciousness. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  223 

The  answer  made  was  fluent  enough,  however  dis 
couraging,  evidencing,  as  it  did,  considerable  delirium. 

"  Feel  ?  Oh,  very  well  indeed — never  better — a  little 
giddy,  that  is  all.  I  wish  to  heaven  it  could  last  for 
ever,  though !  but  the  horses  have  been  stopped." 

And  he  smiled  drearily  and  waved  his  hand. 

"Do  you  know  what  he  refers  to,  Mademoiselle?" 
relied  the  physician,  slightly  elevating  his  dark  eye 
brows. 

"A  recent  drive,  I  believe,  Monsieur.  There  is  no 
doubt  much  method  in  his  madness,"  and  she  sighed. 

"  Well,  I  am  glad  to  hear  that ;  it  is  always  some  com 
fort  to  know  there  is  a  foundation  even  for  delirium. 
Was  he  hurt,  that  you  know  of,  during  that  drive  ?  " 

"Not  physically,  Monsieur,  I  am  quite  sure.  But, 
alas !  he  raves  again ;  he  must  be  still." 

"  The  prisoner  at  the  bar  ought  to  be  discharged  at 
once,  my  lord !  "  shouted  Rivers.  "  He  did  it  in  self- 
defence.  The  man  shot  at  him  twice.  I  witnessed  the 
whole  transaction.  It  was  barbarous !  " 

A  few  drops  from  a  vial  in  the  saddle-bags  of  Dr. 
Mandamus  soon  sent  poor  Mazeron  to  sleep  for  some 
hours ;  but  the  recurrence  of  his  delirium  became  one  of 
the  most  distressing  features  of  a  long  and  dangerous 
illness  that  resulted,  alas  ! — but  let  us  not  anticipate. 

Mademoiselle  has  still  the  work  before  her,  and 
whether  successful  or  unsuccessful  remains  to  be  tested. 
In  the  meantime  youth  and  disease  have  got  to  wage 
wild  war  over  that  flickering,  feeble  flame  of  life  which 
one  rude  blast  might  extinguish,  and  which  the  young, 
faithful  watcher  so  tenderly  guards  and  cherishes. 

"Is  that  young  French  girl,  who  seems  so  intelligent 


224  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

and  devoted  both — by  the  way,  a  pretty  creature,  too — a 
relation  of  the  wounded  young  man  ?  "  asked  the  physi 
cian,  on  the  third  day  of  his  attendance,  of  Major  Raven- 
shaw,  who,  perfectly  wretched,  vibrated  between  Mrs. 
Therinor  and  the  atelier ;  soothing  the  fears  of  the  one — 
who  had  of  course  heard  something  of  an  accident — and 
yet  never  permitted  to  enter  the  presence  of  the  other, 
lest  excitement  at  seeing  his  enemy  should  injure  the 
patient. 

"No,  I  believe  not,"  was  the  rejoinder.  "Only  a 
countrywoman — some  think  attached  to  him — but  I  can 
not  believe  thai  for  one ;  she  is  too  calm.  Why,  but  for 
her  presence  of  mind  all  would  have  gone  wrong  at  first, 
as  you  said  yourself,  doctor.  Now,  when  a  woman  is  in 
love,  you  know — " 

"She  is  transfigured!"  interrupted  the  physician. 
"  My  dear  sir,  I  have  seen  such  evidence  of  self-abnega 
tion,  calmness,  and  endurance  on  the  part  of  wives  and 
sweethearts  that  the  martyrdom  of  old  would  never  have 
approached  them." 

"Well,  I  have  the  clue  now,  and  I  could  ask  no 
better  assistant  than  such  a  sentiment.  If  there  is  a 
spark  of  life  left  in  the  poor  young  fellow,  believe  me, 
she  will  blow  it  up  to  flame.  But  I  confess  the  prospect 
seems  gloomy.  Yet  cheer  up,  Major  Ravenshaw.  I 
Lave  pulled  through  worse  cases  before  now,  with  careful 
nursing  like  hers." 

"  I  would  give  half  I  possess  to  see  him  well  again," 
said  Major  Ravenshaw,  sadly ;  "  yet  if  it  were  to  do  over 
I  suppose  I  should  act  in  the  same  manner.  When  my 
head  begins  to  whirl,  doctor,  I  always  go  off  the  handle ; 
such  is  my  beggarly  nature.  And  the  truth  is,  I  am 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOX.  225 

only  fit  to  live  among  the  Seminoles,  who  are  never 
aggravating  or  exacting  or  uncourteous." 

"You  give  them  a  high  character  for  refinement, 
Major  Ravenshaw.  I  have  never  before  heard  of  Indian 
deportment." 

"  Yes,  sir,  their  manners  are  good  and  their  breeding 
also,  if  they  are  thieves  and  assassins  ;  but  foreign  airs  I 
could  never  grow  accustomed  to ;  and  above  all  a  French 
man,  with  his  vulgar  ways,  could  I  never  abide !  I 
have  too  much  cavalier  blood  in  my  veins,  sir,  for  that." 

"  I  confess  I  am  interested  in  the  young  man,  French 
man  or  not,"  said  Dr.  Mandamus ;  "  and  I,  whose  voca 
tion  it  is  to  heal,  could  never  see  how  men  could  be  fond 
of  destroying  one  another.  No  offence,  Major;  your 
trade  is  different,  that  is  all.  This  is  a  noble  young  life, 
and  we  must  try  to  save  it.  Another  nurse  must  be 
procured,  however.  My  assistant  can  no  longer  devote 
himself  wholly  to  this  case  without  injustice  to  others, 
and  this  poor  young  lady  will  very  soon  break  down 
without  manly  aid.  Now,  whom  could  you  recommend?" 

"  Juba,  and  Coriander,  and  Duff,  and  Liberty  are  all 
efficient  aids,  doctor." 

"  Negroes  all !  Would  you  consign  this  sweet  young 
person  to  such  society  ?  We  are  talking  of  an  assistant 
for  you,  Mademoiselle,  as  Mr.  Jenkins  must  leave  on 
account  of  his  medical  engagements,"  continued  Dr. 
Mandamus,  elevating  his  voice  a  little,  as  those  who 
speak  only  one  tongue  are  apt  to  do  who  accost  foreigners 
in  their  vernacular,  as  Mademoiselle  Minande  glided 
into  the  chamber. 

"  I  have  just  a  note,  Monsieur,  from  M.  de  Rocham- 
bcau,  who  has,  I  hear,  arrived  at  de  village  S«ndpipaire 
14 


226  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OR, 

to  accompany  me  back  to  my  friends.  I  cannot  think  to 
go  until  my  compatriot  is  bettaire  or  much  worse,  and  in 
de  meantime  he  will  come,  if  you  object  not,  to  my  relief. 
He  is  one  of  de  most  experienced  of  all  old  men  to  nurse, 
and  has  walked  hospitals  in  war  time.  Shall  he  come?" 

All  this  was  said  slowly,  and  with  a  marked  foreign 
accent,  yet  clearly  and  intelligibly,  and  the  doctor  thought 
it  the  sweetest  voice  he  had  ever  heard,  and  he  caught 
eagerly  at  the  aid  so  near  at  hand  and  so  opportune. 

It  was  arranged  between  them  that  on  his  return  late 
that  evening  Dr.  Mandamus  should  bring  with  him 
Monsieur  de  Rochambeau  instead  of  Jenkins. 

A  little  note  consisting  of  one  line  was  handed  to  him 
open  by  Mademoiselle,  requesting  that  he  would  transfer 
it  to  the  old  Frenchman  to  make  all  secure.  The  words 
of  the  note  were  simply  these:  "Venez  sans  hesitation 
avec  Monsieur  le  Medecin  nous  avons  besoin  de  vous.  II 
est  malade" 

After  the  coming  of  M.  Rochambeau  Mademoiselle 
held  day  watch,  and  gave  to  him  that  of  the  night,  com 
mencing  at  twelve  o'clock,  when  the  patient  usually 
began  to  quiet  down  under  the  influence  of  an  opiate. 

The  morning's  light  found  her  at  his  pillow  again, 
and  M.  Rochambeau — a  silent,  old,  white-haired  man, 
who  seldom  spoke — slumbered  all  day  on  a  couch  in  the 
•atelier ;  or,  if  he  listed,  returned  to  Sandpiper  and  his 
lodgings  in  that  hamlet. 

Never  was  wounded  patient  so  quietly  nursed,  or  with 
so  little  trouble  to  a  family.  But,  to  Mrs.  ThermorV 
credit,  be  it  said,  that  she  knew  not  the  extent  of  the 
injury — or  even  its  precise  nature — until  the  culmination 
of  events  necessarily  revealed  them. 


HOW     SHE     WAS    WON.  227 

She  was  persuaded  by  Major  Ravenshaw,  abetted  by 
Colonel  Kavanaugh,  that  she  could  not  with  any  pro 
priety  enter  the  room  of  the  sick  man  after  what  had 
occurred,  and  that  all  she  ought  to  do  was  done,  when, 
once  a  day,  she  went  on  the  arm  of  one  of  those  colluding 
worthies, to  inquire  at  the  door  concerning  him. 

Dr.  Mandamus,  also,  had  his  cue,  and  refused  her  sat 
isfaction.  Juba  and  Rena,  too,  were  sternly  admon 
ished  that,  for  their  own  security  and  welfare,  discretion 
had  better  be  observed  concerning  the  condition  of  Mr. 
Rivers,  and  the  cause  of  his  sufferings — well  known 
to  both. 

"  Fencing  with  foils,  he  had  been  accidentally  wounded," 
she  had  been  told,  and  as  Mademoiselle,  with  her  odious 
foreign  brass,  had  seen  fit  to  establish  herself  by  his  pil 
low,  she  was  certainly  not  going  to  intrude  or  seek  for 
details. 

Genie  had  gone  to  Baltimore  with  Ruffin  and  Ger 
trude  Lindsay  on  a  brief  visit — gone,  too,  the  very  day 
of  the  occurrence  that  had  resulted  in  poor  Mazeron's 
discomfiture,  and  thus  all  sources  of  usual  and  intimate 
communication  were  cut  off  from  the  mistress  of  Birk- 
braes,  whose  guests,  with  one  accord,  in  her  presence 
ignored  the  subject  of  Mr.  Rivers,  for  by  this  time  her 
engagement  to  Major  Ravenshaw  was  understood. 

Despite  the  precautions  observed  and  her  own  deter 
mination  to  make  neither  private  inquiry  nor  public 
remark  about  her  wounded  guest,  some  inkling  of  the 
truth  began  to  find  its  way  to  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Thermor. 

All  that  she  possessed  would  she  have  freely  given  (so 
felt  she  at  the  last  of  a  struggle  that  had  continued 
through  several  woful  days  and  sleepless  nights,  which 


228  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OH, 

told  on  her  appearance  signally)  to  take  the  place  of 
Mademoiselle  but  for  one  revolution  of  the  earth,  by  the 
side  of  him  she  adored. 

But  something  more  than  mere  propriety  was  now  at 
stake,  and  she  felt  instinctively  that  the  watchful  eyes 
of  her  whole  household  were  fixed  upon  her ;  above  all 
those  of  the  argus-orbed  seneschal  of  her  castle,  and  her 
guest  Miss  Lindsay,  the  last,  if  truth  be  told,  dying  for 
an  opportunity  of  making  a  revelation. 

Rena  waited  dumbly,  hoping  to  be  questioned,  in 
which  case  she  had  resolved,  in  defiance  of  all  the  world, 
to  tell  her  mistress  the  whole  truth ;  but  so  far  Rena  had 
waited  in  vain,  for  even  to  her  attached  servant  Mrs. 
Thermor,  the  betrothed  of  Major  Ravenshaw,  feared  to 
betray  the  depth  of  her  interest  and  its  consequent  emo 
tion  by  interrogatories. 

As  to  Dr.  Mandamus,  he  usually  spoke  to  women 
in  oracles,  which  only  the  skilful  could  properly  inter 
pret,  and  the  style  of  communication  he  had  always  found 
particularly  successful  in  calming  apprehension  without 
the  utterance  of  positive  falsehood. 

Accordingly,  when  on  the  5th  of  June  —  a  day  that 
seemed  the  crisis  of  poor  Mazeron's  condition — she  way 
laid  the  doctor  in  the  shrubbery,  and,  affecting  as  much 
indifference  as  possible,  asked  him  about  his  patient  and 
the  prospect  of  his  recovery,  Mrs.  Thermor  at  first  could 
obtain  no  definite  reply,  and  was  staggered  by  the  terrific 
string  of  technicalities,  each  word  harder  than  the  last, 
properly  employed  to  disguise  the  truth  and  evade  her 
questions. 

"  Doctor,"  she  said  at  last,  when  he  was  almost  out  of 
breath  with  his  own  skilful  fencing,  and  when  she  saw 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  229 

signs  of  his  suddenly  succumbing,  and  departure,  his. 
usual  mode  of  cutting  a  social  gordian  knot  when  all 
others  failed  him. 

"  Doctor,"  and  she  placed  her  soft,  wax-like  hand  upon 
his  arm,  which,  suddenly  closing  upon  that  burly  mem 
ber  with  unexpected  strength,  left  him  absolutely  at  her 
mercy,  had  not  even  her  large,  blue  eyes  been  fixed  upon 
his  face  too  earnestly  to  permit  him  to  escape  their 
spell. 

"Dr.  Mandamus,  what  have  I  done  to  be  treated 
like  a  child  in  my  own  house,  and  by  the  friend  and 
physician  my  poor  husband  so  loved  and  honored?" 
Here  tears  gushed  over  her  fair,  full  cheeks,  and  her 
mouth  trembled  like  a  rose  blown  about  by  the  breeze 
for  a  moment  or  two;  and  the  lace-trimmed  handker 
chief  was  applied  to  her  eyes,  which  were  soon  again  dry 
and  in  good  order,  and  once  more  fixed  beseechingly  on 
the  doctor's  face. 

"I  am  so  hurt  that  I  should  have  been  the  last 
person  to  be  consulted  in  my  own  house,  or  to  be  in 
formed  of  the  true  condition  of  one  of  its  inmates — 
about  whom,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  feel  an  immense 
responsibility. 

"  The  Countess  Cluche,  you  know,  my  own  dear  cousin 
by  courtesy — niece,  though  nearly  my  own  age,  by  my 
mother's  side — sent  him  here,  and  what  will  she  think  of 
me  (sobbing)  when  he  returns  to  France  and  (sobbing) 
like  all  those  foreigners  (sobs)  exaggerates,  perhaps,  the 
neglect  he  really  has  received  at  my  hands  ?  All  your 
fault,  doctor,  if  truth  be  told ! " 

"And  do  you  think  him  capable  of  this?"  asked 
Dr.  Mandamus  a  little  sternly.  "  If  so,  I  wonder  that 


230          A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OR, 

you  should  care  at  all  what  report  he  makes,  also  do  I 
wonder  much  that  your  niece  or  cousin — if  he  be  such 
a  man — should  have  sent  him  hither." 

Without  taking  the  least  notice  of  this  diversion  on 
the  part  of  the  shrewd  Mandamus,  who  was  somewhat 
impatiently  beating  a  rose-bush  to  pieces  with  his  riding- 
whip,  she  went  on  fluently,  and  not  without  a  certain 
pathos  which  riveted  his  attention  : 

"But  if  he  should  die!  Oh,  doctor,  if  he  should 
perish  on  my  hands,  without  warning  to  me  of  his  des 
perate  state — he  so  young — so  gifted — so  dear  to  many 
hearts,"  and  she  relaxed  her  grasp  upon  the  doctor's  arm, 
unwittingly  to  clasp  her  long,  white  fingers  convulsively 
together.  "  What — what  would  others  think  ?  and  what 
would  be  my  agony  never  to  have  ministered  to  him — 
under  my  own  roof,  too  ?  never  to  have  addressed  to  him 
one  kind  word,  one  serious  or  tender  inquiry,  even — 
even  about  the  welfare  of  his  immortal  soul  ?  Oh,  doctor, 
think  of  this,  and  speak  to  me  the  truth — as  to  one 
strong  to  bear  it,  eager  to  hear  it,  wretched  because  of 
this  prolonged  delusion ! 

"  It  is  not  your  nature,  I  know,  to  be  crafty  and  cruel, 
and  deceitful ;  but  as  you  love  the  truth,  so  speak  it  to 
me  now,  I  charge  you ! "  And  again  she  grasped  him. 
"  See,  I  await  your  verdict." 

"What  is  it  you  wish  to  know,  Mrs.  Thermor?" 
asked  the  doctor,  a  little  huskily,  clearing  his  throat  as 
he  always  did  when  affected  and  impressed  beyond  him 
self,  with  the  conviction  that  she  had  a  right,  superior  to 
that  of  any  other,  to  a  straightforward  answer.  She 
who  represented  Birk-braes— though  a  woman! 

"  Whether  he  will  live  or  die,"  and  her  clasped  hands 


231 

fell  straight  before  her,  as  in  low,  eager  tones,  she  made 
this  inquiry. 

"  That  rests  with  God,  Mrs.  Thermor." 

"  Your  opinion !     That  is  what  I  ask." 

"I  can  scarcely  form  a  definite  one  yet.  This  is  a 
crisis,  he  is  very  ill,  ahem!  yet  he  has  on  his  side  two 
powerful  allies,  youth  and  a  sound  constitution.  He  has 
never  been  a  dissipated  man.  He  may  recover ! " 

"May — and  is  this  all  the  consolation  you  have  to 
offer  me,"  she  cried,  "  after  these  ten  days  of  subterfuge 
on  your  part — and  wretched  anxiety  on  mine?  Take 
back  your  miserable  'may.'  Doctor,  he  must,  he  shall 
live !  Devote  all  your  energies  to  him,  all  your  science, 
all  your  time,  and  look  to  me  for  your  remuneration, 
whatever  amount  you  may  choose  to  make  it.  Save  him 
and  take  half  my  estate  if  you  will,  for  my  very  being 
is  bound  up  in  this  young  man's  life." 

"  My  dear,  dear  lady,"  replied  Dr.  Mandamus,  "  do  you 
suppose  I  need  any  incentive  like  this  to  urge  me  to 
the  performance  of  my  duty?  Your  anxiety  about 
Major  Ravenshaw,  however,  carries  you  too  far,  natural 
as  it  is  under  the  circumstances,  fcr  I  know  what  your 
feelings  must  have  been  to  see  one  guest  work  such  mis 
chief  to  another ;  one,  too,  that  you  feel  such  vital  interest 
in ;  as — as  Colonel  Kavanaugh  assures  me  has  been 
awakened  in  your  breast  by  the  gallant  Ravenshaw.  I 
hope  I  have  betrayed  no  secret,"  seeing  her  frightened 
and  offended  face ;  "  but  the  fact  is  I  am  always  putting 
my  foot  in  it." 

"  Go  on,  Dr.  M;  n  lamus ;  when  did  the  duel  occur?  I 
suppose  there  was  one." 

"No,  merely  a  rencounter;   and  it  is   certain  that 


232  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

Ravenshaw  acted  on  the  defensive,  though  he  blamed 
himself  very  severely.  I  did  not  mean  to  allude  to  it, 
however,  nor  to  the  whispered  engagement.  It  was  your 
agitation  that  threw  me  off  my  guard." 

So  saying  he  was  gone,  after  having  shed  much  light 
on  a  hitherto  mysterious  subject ;  for  until  this  moment 
(strangely  enough)  Mrs.  Thermor  had  not,  as  we  know, 
connected  Major  Ravenshaw  at  all  with  the  bodily 
injuries  under  which  she  had  learned  Rivers  was  suf 
fering. 

Yet  a  hundred  times  had  he  been  on  the  point  of 
revealing  to  her  the  whole  affair — as  due  to  himself  as 
well  as  to  her  in  the  character  of  hostess,  if  not  of 
affianced  wife — and  as  often  had  Colonel  Kavanaugh, 
who  kept  him  pretty  constantly  in  sight,  and  just  now 
under  his  thumb,  interfered  with  remonstrances  and 
representations  that  controlled  him  to  silence. 

"  She  will  be  sure  to  expose  everything  if  she  hears  of 
his  danger,"  thought  the  crafty  old  seneschal,  who,  after 
all,  had  her  good  at  heart  and  that  of  her  children  as 
well  as  his  own.  "  We  shall  have  her  in  hysterics,  call 
ing  her  dear  painter  by  a  thousand  tender  names ;  and, 
now  that  her  face  is  set,  like  a  flint,  marriage-wise,  she 
had  better  take  Ravenshaw  than  any  other  man  who 
will  ever  be  mad  enough  to  propose  to  marry  her.  Ten 
to  one  the  result  of  such  knowledge  would  be  a  reconcil 
iation  with  that  young  hair-brained  puppy — should  he 
recover — and,  of  course,  in  any  case  there  would  be  an 
end  to  her  engagement  with  Ravenshaw. 

"No,  no;  let  the  thing  culminate  without  a  scene. 
When  she  hears  he  is  dead — if  it  comes  to  that — her  own 
good  sense  will  show  her  the  necessity  of  self-control. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  233 

"  My  own  idea  would  be  to  bury  him  without  letting 
her  know  a  word  about  it. 

"  People  always  calm  down  after  a  funeral.  Isabella 
has  astonished  me  greatly,  I  confess,  by  her  absurd 
passion  for  this  stripling,  and  it  will  take  good  manage 
ment  to  steer  her  past  the  shoals  yet.  Fortunately  a 
trusty  pilot  has  his  hand  upon  the  helm  of  the  gallant 
brig,"  and  he  smiled  self-complacently. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  not  one  word  of  this  kind  was 
spoken  to  Major  Ravenshaw  in  order  to  dissuade  him 
from  making  Mrs.  Thermor  a  party  in  his  grief  about 
Rivers,  which  waxed  sorer  every  day  and  harder  to 
restrain. 

When  the  thing  first  occurred  he  had  put  a  good  face 
on  the  matter,  and  seemed  disposed  to  justify  himself. 
But  of  late  nothing  could  be  more  abject  than  his  sorrow, 
or  more  bitter  than  his  self-reproach,  which  took  away 
strength  and  appetite. 

Mrs.  Thermor,  absorbed  with  her  own  feelings,  had 
observed  him  but  slightly ;  but  after  Dr.  Mandamus' 
revelation,  and  when  her  own  determination  had  been 
promptly  made,  she  saw  with  a  grim  satisfaction  the 
sufferings  of  her  devoted  Major — saw,  and  pretended  not 
to  see,  as  it  was  her  plan  to  do — for  she  did  not  choose 
that  any  one  should  be  cognizant  of  her  insight  into  what 
was  going  on  in  the  minds  of  others. 

The  breakfast  was  a  very  mournful  one  that  morning 
at  Birk-braes.  Even  Clara  Lindsay  had  been  evidently 
crying.  "  Old  Kavanaugh "  was  cross  and  grave  and 
ate  less  than  usual,  and  Major  Ravenshaw,  on  the  plea 
of  headache,  declined  all  but  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  sat  with 
his  brow  covered  by  his  slender,  sinewy,  brown  hands 


234  A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OK, 

during  most  of  the  time  devoted  to  the  repast.  Mrs. 
Thermor  alone  was  cheerful. 

She  had  met  Dr.  Mandamus  in  the  shrubbery  at  seven 
o'clock,  and  breakfast  was  served  at  nine;  yet  in  that 
short  interval  she  had  managed  to  regain  entire  external 
composure. 

There  is  nothing  like  a  fresh  and  firm  resolve  to  steady 
the  powers  of  nerve  and  brain  and  teach  patience  and 
endurance  to  the  expectant  heart.  This  had  she  formed 
and  found. 

A  bitter  burst  of  grief  had  relieved  her  almost  break 
ing  heart  when  she  took  refuge  in  her  chamber  after  Dr. 
Mandamus'  departure.  In  Genie's  absence  she  felt  safe 
from  intrusion,  yet  when  she  rang  her  bell  for  Eena  she 
had  made  up  her  mind  to  a  confederacy. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  the  time  to  record  the  conversa 
tion  between  mistress  and  maid  on  this  occasion,  in 
which  so  much  was  revealed  and  resolved,  or  even  to 
state  the  determination  it  led  to  on  the  part  of  the 
former,  which  will  be  made  plain  later  and  in  due 
time. 

Cold  water  and  cold  cream,  rice  powder  and  a  touch 
of  rouge  and  rose  water  removed  all  external  traces  of 
the  mental  conflict  through  which  Mrs.  Thermor  had 
passed,  and,  determined  as  she  was  to  preserve  her  secret 
from  prying  eyes,  she  looked  like  Aurora  at  the  break 
fast  board. 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  had  impressed  upon  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lindsay  and  Miss  Constance  the  necessity  of  spar 
ing  Mrs.  Thermor's  feelings  as  much  as  possible  with 
regard  to  the  condition  of  Mr.  Rivers — which  it  was 
perfectly  understood  by  this  time  was  a  desperate  one, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  235 

and  was  the  consequence  of  a  skirmish — some  said  a  duel 
— with  Major  Ravenshaw. 

The  last  report  had  been  secretly  circulated  by  Miss 
Clara  Lindsay,  who,  in  support  of  her  statement,  exhib 
ited  one  of  the  fragments  of  the  challenge  the  wind  had 
wafted  her — "  flotsam  and  jetsam,"  as  she  called  it — tak 
ing  good  care  to  conceal  the  portion  which  alluded  to  Mrs. 
Thermor. 

She  had  also  industriously  promulgated  her  discovery 
of  an  engagement  between  her  hostess  and  Major  Raven 
shaw,  having  at  last  quite  despaired  of  her  meditated  con 
quest  of  that  gentleman. 

She  thereafter  amused  herself  unmercifully  at  his  ex 
pense,  after  the  fashion  of  such  disappointed  coquettes. 

It  was  perfectly  understood  by  all  but  Clara  Lindsay, 
that,  owing  to  her  interest  in  Major  Ravenshaw  alone, 
Mrs.  Thermor  must  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  difficulty 
that  had  taken  place,  and  consequent  danger  of  poor 
young  Rivers.  Bound  to  discretion  by  the  injunctions 
of  her  mother,  the  commands  of  her  father,  she  had 
hitherto  kept  herself  within  assigned  limits ;  but  on  the 
morning  in  question,  when  gloom  sat  on  every  brow  save 
that  of  the  hostess,  radiant  as  Hesperus,  the  occasion  was 
too  tempting  to  be  neglected  to  launch  a  dart  at  her  happy 
and  unconscious  rival. 

She  waited  patiently  until  all  had  left  the  table  except 
Colonel  Kavanaugh  and  Mrs.  Thermor,  who  usually  sat 
last  of  all,  directions  for  the  day  being  always  given  sev 
erally  to  John  and  Coriander  by  her,  when  the  guests  had 
departed.  Then  drawing  quietly  to  the  side  of  her  host 
ess,  who  sat  almost  concealed  by  the  bright  array  of  sil 
ver  vases  before  her,  she  uttered  a  piteous  sigh  and  shook 


236  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

her  fair  head  drearily,  glancing  furtively  as  she  did  so  in 
the  direction  of  the  ever  vigilant  Colonel  Kavanaugh. 

"  It  is  coming  now,"  thought  Mrs.  Thermor.  "  Thank 
heaven  I  am  prepared  for  her !  "  And  come  it  did. 

"I  thought,  dear  Mrs.  Thermor,"  murmured  her 
mournful  companion,  "  from  the  expression  of  your  coun 
tenance  latterly,  its  anxiety  and  pallor,  that  you  knew  of 
Mr.  Rivers'  condition,  so  dreadful,  you  know,  under  the 
circumstances ;  a  stranger  in  your  gate  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing,  and  forbore  all  comment  out  of  consideration 
for  your  feelings,  but  I  begin  to  think  I  must  be  mistaken. 
You  look  so  radiant  to-day  that  I  suppose  you  have 
merely  been  indisposed  of  late,  but  I  grieve  to  say  a 
severe  blow  is  in  store  for  you." 

"  What  can  you  mean,  Clara  ?  "  with  well-feigned  sur 
prise  ;  "  do  hasten  to  explain." 

"  How  I  wish  he  would  go,  then  I  could  tell  you  every 
thing  ;  and  you  really  ought  to  know,  but  he  will  not, 
for  I  hear  him  calling  for  a  hot  snipe  and  another  crab, 
dreadful  old  cannibal  that  he  is." 

"  Clara,  he  will  hear  you." 

"  I  do  not  care,  I  wish  he  would,  despotic  old  creature. 
Why,  every  one  can  see  that  you  cannot  call  your  soul 
your  own  for  him." 

"  Suppose  we  change  the  subject.  What  have  you  to 
communicate  ?  If  it  is  about  Mr.  Rivers,  as  I  imagine, 
I  do  know  everything.  Dr.  Mandamus  has  just  told 
me  his  situation,  and  I  am  very  sorry  indeed.  Juba,  a 
little  more  boiling  water  for  Miss  Lindsay's  tea." 

For  a  moment  Clara  Lindsay  stared  resolutely  and 
incredulously  in  Mrs.  Thermor's  face,  not  a  whit  less 
astonished  than  she  appeared  to  be.  Why,  the  woman's 


HOW     SHE     WAG     WON.  237 

cheek  had  not  even  blanched,  nor  her  lips,  and  it  was  not 
her  custom  to  rouge,  every  one  knew,  either  the  one  or 
the  other,  with  that  radiant  natural  color  unmistakably 
her  own ! 

People  rarely  do  such  things  piecemeal  or  occasionally 
(as  Mrs.  Thermor  we  know  did),  and  are  judged  sweep- 
ingly,  and  not  from  solitary  instances,  by  those  who  pre 
tend  to  penetrate  all  such  secrets. 

At  that  moment  a  summons  arrived,  not  to  be  disre 
garded,  from  Major  Ravenshaw,  who  wished  to  entreat 
Mrs.  Thermor  for  a  little  of  her  aromatic  vinegar  to 
soothe  his  head ;  but  who  in  reality  had  been  telegraphed 
by  "old  Kavanaugh,"  who  saw  him  on  the  piazza,  to 
observe  what  was  going  on,  and  tear  his  beloved  from 
such  dangerous  proximity  on  any  possible  pretext  without 
delay. 

In  a  contemplative  spirit  of  mingled  disappointment 
and  conjecture,  Clara  Lindsay  sat  balancing  her  tiny  gold 
egg-spoon  on  the  edge  of  the  cup  of  hot  tea  she  had  just 
partaken  of,  as  an  excuse  for  her  move  to  the  end  of  the 
table,  when  she  was  somewhat  startled  by  the  sharp,  sar 
castic  tones  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh's  voice,  as  he  addressed 
to  her  a  brief  reproof. 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  have  made  a  fair  beginning  in  your 
peculiar  line  of  business  on  this  fine  June  morning,  Miss 
Clara  Lindsay,  and  that  you  will  go  through  the  remainder 
of  the  twenty-four  hours  much  strengthened  and  refreshed 
in  consequence,"  and  he  bowed  sardonically. 

"  I  do  not  comprehend  you,  sir,  I  confess,"  she  answered 
coolly;  "but  you  probably  have  snipe  or  crab  on  the 
brain." 

"  I  have  never  yet  expected  a  viper  to  lay  aside  its  venom 


238          A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

on  my  account,"  said  the  irascible  old  Colonel,  crimson 
ing  with  rage,  "  but  I  make  a  point  of  scotching  such 
reptiles  whenever  I  perceive  them  ready  to  attack  either 
myself  or  those  near  to  me,  and  I  shall  not  make  an  ex 
ception  now." 

"You  speak  in  apologue,  wise  Confucius.  I  have 
thought  for  some  time  your  brain  was  in  labor  with  an 
idea.  Behold  the  wonderful  result !  The  mountain  has 
brought  forth  a  mouse  or  a  crab.  Which  is  it  ?  " 

Hereupon  Juba  and  Coriander  giggled  suddenly,  not 
knowing  why  themselves,  and  were  instantly  once  more 
as  solemn  as  bumble-bees  under  the  severe  eye  of  the 
master. 

The  Colonel  scowled  fearfully  around,  and  then  con 
centrated  his  gleaming  pupils  once  more  on  the  careless 
young  person,  who  still  sat  balancing  her  spoon  as  nicely 
as  a  Chinese  juggler  could  have  done  on  the  edge  of  her 
cup. 

Had  there  been  a  ray  of  wit  in  her  utterance,  or  had 
not  the  negroes  sniggered  outright,  he  might  have  been 
amused  or  scornful.  As  it  was,  he  waxed  wroth  apace. 
His  dignity  had  been  assaulted,  and  this  was  a  matter  he 
could  never  lightly  look  upon. 

"  There  will  be  no  '  feast  of  roses '  here  this  year,  that 
-  is  plain,  Colonel  Kavanaugh,"  said  Miss  Lindsay,  after 
a  few  moments  of  silence,  during-  which  she  had  deter 
mined  to  mend  matters,  if  possible,  and  conciliate  the  old 
dragon  who  so  zealously  guarded  his  golden  fruit. 

To  this  remark  no  reply  was  vouchsafed,  but  nothing 
daunted,  the  saucy  young  girl  went  on  defiant,  in  spite  of 
her  sad  and  stricken  heart — for  she,  too,  mourned  for 
Mazeron — and  as  one  without  hope,  in  any  case. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  239 

"  I  thought  it  my  duty — knowing  that  Genie  had 
gone  to  Baltimore  to  order  an  expensive  dress,  and  sup 
per  and  flowers,  and  Chinese  lamps,  and  all  sorts  of 
adornments  for  the  occasion,  with  Aunt  Constance  as  her 
adviser,  for  Mrs.  Thermor's  festival — to  let  her  know 
that  all  this  preparation  would  be  wasted.  There  is  still 
time  to  countermand  the  orders.  It  would  be  positively 
indecent  to  dance  on  the  poor  young  Frenchman's  grave 
— killed,  too,  slaughtered,  I  may  say — as  he  has  been  by 
that  old  Seminole  brave  of  yours  and  hers.  I  should 
be  sorry  she  should  make  herself  a  subject  of  unkind 
remark." 

"As  you  have  already  made  her ! "  said  the  implacable 
officer,  darting  fierce  and  angry  glances  at  his  tranquil 
enemy  who  was  at  this  time  selecting  the  best  flowers 
from  a  vase  that  had  been  in  the  centre  of  the  table,  for 
a  bouquet,  which  Juba,  at  her  behest,  had  placed  before 
her. 

The  dart  went  home  this  time,  and  Miss  Lindsay  in 
turn  was  exasperated ;  but  she  said  with  tolerable  cool 
ness,  though  reddening  visibly : 

"Accusations  unsupported  by  proof  amount  to  nothing, 
we  all  know.  Were  I  a  man  I  should  hold  you  to  ac 
count,  though,  for  that  speech  were  you  the  venerable 
Bede  himself." 

"And  as  you  are  a  woman,"  scoffed  the  Colonel,  "  you 
can  do  nothing  but — " 

"Retire!"  she  interrupted  promptly,  and  she  arose, 
flowers  in  hand,  adding,  in  the  most  provoking  manner, 
as  she  passed  his  chair  and  bowed  on  her  way  to  the 
portico,  "  I  leave  you  to  the  conflict,  not  of  conscience  and 
good-breeding,  for  these  are  strangers  to  you,  I  imagine, 


240  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

but  to  that  fearful  intestine  strife — forgive  the  pun — 
waged  between  undigested  crabs  and  crude,  belligerent 
snipe,  so  common  to  your  crabbed  organization.  Inform 
me,  if  you  please,  at  our  next  meeting,  which  of  the  in 
surgents  conquered." 

As  she  vanished  she  kissed  her  hand  airily,  and  laughed 
her  little  tinkling,  exasperating  laugh. 

"  I  wish  I  was  thirty-five,"  said  the  old  Colonel,  after 
the  subsidence  of  a  silent  chuckle,  indulged  in  in  spite  of 
himself,  in  the  absence  of  all  witnesses ;  "  I  should  fall 
in  love  with  her,  court  her  forthwith,  marry  her,  of 
course,  and  keep  her  in  perfect  subjection  all  the  rest  of 
her  days.  It  is  worth  while  to  subject  a  limb  like  that — 
some  sport!  witty  and  wicked  both,  and  wise  besides. 
Now,  I  suppose,  she  will  go  straight  to  Isabella,  repeat 
the  whole  scene  between  us,  and  tell  all  she  left  un 
told.  I  could  not  hear  what  she  was  saying,  owing  to 
this  confounded  thickness  of  hearing,  which  is  growing 
on  me  of  late. 

"Mem. — Must  consult  Mandamus  about  it  when  he 
comes  again,"  and  he  drew  forth  a  note-book  and  jotted 
down  his  intention ;  "  but  after  all  my  pains,  I  do  hope 
earnestly  that  she  will  let  the  matter  alone,  especially  as 
she  is  as  deep  in  as  any  of  them.  A-hem !  Confound 
that  girl !  how  she  governs  herself,  though ;  how  much 
more  backbone  she  has  than  poor  Isabella,  soft  as  mush, 
yet  stubborn,  too,  when  she  takes  the  bit  in  her  teeth  ! 

"That  woman,"  picking  his  teeth  vehemently,  "has 
given  me  more  trouble  in  the  last  two  years  than  ever  I 
had  in  the  whole  course  of  my  life  before,  and  upon  my 
honor  I  am  glad  to  be  relieved" — with  a  deep  drawn 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  241 

"Genie  has  more  sense  and  more  pluck  and  will 
rein  easier;  but  the  success  of  that  young  Rivers  is  as 
tonishing  ! 

"As  to  poor  Ravenshaw  I  pity  him.  His  part  will  be 
no  sinecure.  But  some  men  never  profit  by  experience. 
Isabella  Thermor  will  be  a  widow  again  before  five  years, 
and  then,  and  then,  I  hope  she  may  remain  so ! " 

He  rose  from  the  table  vehemently ;  scowling  at  Cori 
ander  as  he  passed,  who  contented  himself  with  drawing 
back  his  chair  respectfully ;  bowing  low,  and  picking  up 
the  napkin  he  threw  down  disdainfully.  The  mournful 
and  penitent  expression  of  his  varlet's  face  affected  the 
irate  Major,  who  tossed  him  a  half  dollar,  upon  which 
condescension  Juba  sprang  forward  eagerly  to  hold  back 
the  door  for  the  egress  of  the  "autocrat  of  the  breakfast 
table."  'No  shining  liberty  cap  and  spread  eagle  re 
warded  his  disinterested  attentions,  however,  on  this 
occasion,  and  he  returned  to  clear  off  the  table  in  no  very 
pleasant  mood.  "  Take  dem  bones  away,  boy,"  he  said 
scornfully  to  Coriander.  "Dat's  all  de  ole  cormorant 
ebber  lebes  for  me." 
15 


242  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 


CHAPTER    X. 

Then  fare  thee  well  1    I'd  rather  make 

My  home  upon  some  icy  lake 

When  thawing  suns  begin  to  shine 

Than  trust  to  love  as  false  as  thine. — MOOKE. 

IT  was  midnight  when,  muffled  in  a  long,  black  silk 
cloak,  with  veil  thrown  over  her  white  cambric  gown 
and  sunny  hair,  so  as  to  conceal  both  as  effectually  as 
ever  did  friar's  cowl,  and  followed  by  Rena  disguised  in 
a  large  gray  shawl  so  as  to  look  rather  like  a  gigantic 
night-moth  than  merry  Christian  handmaid,  Mrs.  Ther- 
mor  took  her  way  through  the  dense  shrubbery  at  the 
rear  of  the  mansion,  to  seek  by  a  circuitous  path  the 
pavilion  at  the  edge  of  the  garden. 

The  windows  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh  had  been  care 
fully-investigated  before  the  twain  had  set  out  on  this 
secret  expedition  and  those  (by  a  rigid  scrutiny)  of  Major 
Ravenshaw  ascertained  to  be  in  utter  darkness,  for,  un 
like  his  brother  officer,  he.  employed  no  taper  to  shed 
light  upon  his  dreams. 

The  very  precautions  she  was  taking  made  it  all  the 
more  indispensable  to  Mrs.  Thermor  that  her  midnight 
sally  should  not  be  detected,  for  these  would  of  course 
react  on  her  in  the  shape  of  undue  suspicion,  and  even 
ridicule,  the  last  more  insufferable  than  the  first  in  her 
opinion. 

"  You  are  quite  sure,  Rena,"  whispered  her  mistress, 
before  arriving  at  the  pavilion,  "  that  Mademoiselle  has 
gone  home,  and  that  Monsieur  (the  old  Frenchman,  I 
mean)  has  the  watch  ?  " 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  243 

"  Yes,  mistress,  I  seed  Miss  Minode  when  she  crossed 
the  garden  half  an  hour  ago,  and  I  watched  her  clean  to 
de  ell  door,  caze,  after  what  you  said — " 

"Very  well !  that  is  sufficient.  I  do  not  mind  the  old 
man  at  all.  He  will  never  know  who  I  am  in  this  dis 
guise,  and,  besides  that,  the  piece  of  gold  will  set  all 
right,  if  I  know  aught  of  human  nature.  Have  you  got 
it  safely,  Rena?" 

"  Yes,  mistress,  I'se  got  it  clinched  fast  in  de  hollow 
of  my  hand — a  big  double-eagle  piece — twiste  too  much 
for  de  occasion,  I'se  thinking,"  murmuring  the  last  words 
inaudibly  to  Mrs.  Thermor. 

"  Be  sure  you  recollect  the  signal — you  are  to  press 
your  finger  on  your  lip,  point  to  me,  and  hand  him  the 
money  silently ;  after  I  go  in.  He  cannot  understand 
a  word  of  English,  but  signs  are  the  universal  language." 

"  La,  mistress,  I  thought  every  one  livin'  could  under- 
stan'  plain  English  even  if  dey  could  not  speak  it ;  even 
de  poll  parrots  kin  do  dat." 

"  Be  quiet,  Rena ;  we  are  nearly  there,  and  my  voice 
must  not  be  recognized  outside.  Now,  look  in  cau 
tiously  and  tell  me  who  and  what  you  see ;  the  door 
stands  open." 

"  Nobody,  not  a  soul,  mistress,  an'  de  old  man  fast 
asleep  in  de  atelier  beyond ;  I  can  see  him  from  here,  for 
all  de  world  like  a  dead  corpse,  stretched  on  de  couch, 
just  opposite  de  door." 

"  What  a  careless,  sleepy-headed  old  person  !  Are  you 
sure  Juba  is  in  the  thicket  to  warn  me  of  any  approach  ? 
Did  you  see  him  as  we  passed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  mistress,  I  seed  his  white  eyes  rollin',  an'  he 
turned  de  dark  lantern,  just  so  as  to  Veal  where  he  was 


244  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

squattin'  down,  and  he  pulled  my  shawl  for  a  sign.  Dat 
was  what  made  me  look  so  sharp,  he,  he,  he ! "  suppress 
ing  a  giggle,  for  not  all  the  mystery  that  surrounded  it 
could  make  this  midnight  raid  other  than  ludicrous  in 
the  extreme  to  Mrs.  Thermor's  confederates. 

"Great  heaven,  girl,  what  do  you  find  to  laugh  at? 
Be  silent  and  watchful.  There,  sit  down  near  the  door 
steps,  behind  the  laburnum  tree ;  and  be  sure  to  give  me 
timely  warning  if  any  one  should  come  at  all  near  the 
pavilion.  I  can  easily  escape  in  such  case — through  the 
other  door." 

The  bed-room  in  which  the  wounded  man  was  lying 
was  connected,  as  we  know,  on  one  hand  with  the  atelier, 
and  as  we  do  not  know,  on  the  other  side  with  the  gar 
den  by  means  of  a  small  door  shaded  by  honey-suckle 
trellis,  and  joined  to  the  sward  by  the  aid  of  three  flat 
stone  steps,  which  Mrs.  Thermor  now  hastily  ascended. 

Small  as  the  apartment  was,  it  possessed  two  windows 
opposite  to  one  another  for  draught,  as  well  as  two  doors 
for  egress,  as  we  have  seen ;  and  to  gain  the  advantage 
of  every  breath  of  air  in  the  late  unusually  sultry 
weather  the  bedstead  of  the  invalid  had  been  drawn  out 
from  the  wall,  and  so  partially  from  beneath  the  shadow 
of  its  tent-like  drapery. 

To-night,  however,  the  wind  was  fresh  and  cool,  and 
some  considerate  hand  had  extended  one  of  the  trailing 
curtains  so  as  to  exclude  the  air  from  the  window  next 
the  bed,  that  admitted  the  bay  breeze,  and  to  protect  as 
well  as  the  patient  the  taper,  that  burned  dimly  in  the 
corner,  from  its  effects. 

He  lay  quite  still — the  sufferer  she  had  come  to  visit 
— and  apparently  asleep ;  but  this  Isabella  soon  found 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  245 

he  was  not,  for  bending  above  him  and  lightly  touching 
his  brow  with  her  gentle  fingers,  Mrs.  Thermor  heard 
him  murmur,  "Give  me  some  ice,  Marie;  it  is  all  I 
want." 

She  gave  him  (this  impromptu  nurse  of  his)  a  morsel 
of  the  precious  article  he  craved  from  the  crystal  bowl 
beside  the  bed,  and,  so  revived,  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
looked  upon  her  face  with  the  unmistakable  glance  of 
instant  recognition,  but  no  sounds  left  his  parched  and 
parted  lips. 

"  Say  that  you  know  me,  Mazeron.  Call  me  by  my 
name,"  she  murmured  low.  "  Tell  me  that  you  forgive 
me — that  you  love  me  still." 

"  Know  you,  Madame  ?  Yes,  I  have  cause  to  know 
you — to  remember  you — to  love  you,  and  forgive  you !  " 
and  he  laughed — laughed  so  bitterly  that,  low  as  was  the 
sound  of  that  savage  laughter,  it  made  her  blood  creep 
coldly  through  her  veins. 

"  Then  you  hate  me,  Mazeron  ?  Oh,  God,  how  very 
dreadful  this  is  !  I,  who  have  so  suffered,  wept,  trem 
bled,  and  prayed  for  you ;  who  love  you  so  entirely ! " 
and  her  voice  was  choked  with  tears. 

"  Such  love !  "  he  scoffed.  "  It  was  the  love  of  the 
serpent  for  the  bird.  You  charmed  him,  caught  him, 
slew  him.  Madame,  you  are  equal  to  Queen  Laban,  in 
the  fairy  tale ;  or  Lucretia  Borgia ;  or  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots.  She,  too,  was  fair,  you  know ;  yet  how  she 
treated  Chattelard ! " 

"  Rivers,  you  rave.  Look  at  me  steadfastly.  I  have 
come  to  comfort  you — if  love  of  mine  can  still  do  this — 
to  save  you;  to  entreat  you  to  live,  if  only  for  my 
sake!" 


246  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

And  she  clasped  his  burning  hand,  bedewing  it  with 
her  tears,  at  the  same  time  covering  it  with  kisses. 

But  he  tore  it  from  her  moodily,  and  turning  his  head 
on  the  pillow  with  a  painful  effort,  averted  his  eyes  from 
her  face. 

"Go,"  he  said.  "The  bride  of  Major  Ravenshaw 
should  not  condescend.  She  can  be  nothing  to  me,  nor  I 
to  her,  never  again." 

"  Mazeron !  darling !  I  am  not  yet  his  bride ;  never 
will  be  if  you  wish  it  otherwise;  for  it  is  you  only  that  I 
have  ever  truly  loved  since  I  became  a  widow — you 
alone.  It  is  easy  to  break  such  chains  as  bind  me  to 
Major  Ravenshaw;  easy.  And  I  would  sacrifice  life 
itself  to  see  you  recover.  See !  I  give  you  my  promise 
and  my  hand.  I  will  be  your  wife.  Your  gods  shall 
be  my  gods  and  your  people  my  people.  Only  live,  my 
Mazeron ! " 

She  laid  her  brow  upon  the  edge  of  the  mattress  and 
threw  her  arms  across  him,  borne  away  impetuously  by 
the  torrent  of  her  resistless  grief  and  love,  as  she  had 
never  thought  to  be  again. 

The  fevered  head,  despoiled  of  its  chief  glory  now,  for 
all  its  silken  ringlets  had  been  shorn  away  ruthlessly  by 
the  order  of  Dr.  Mandamus,  again  was  turned  slowly 
and  painfully  upon  its  pillow,  and  with  his  small  remain 
ing  strength  the  sick  man  put  away  the  arms  thrown 
lightly  over  him,  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  tear-stained 
face,  now  lifted  again  before  him,  with  a  sad  surprise  and 
eager  look  of  inquiry. 

"  Can  it  be  possible,"  she  thought,  "  that  the  spell  is 
broken?" 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  in  louder  accents  than  he  had  yet 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  247 

employed,  for  his  was  now  the  fictitious  strength  of 
fever,  rapidly  increasing  under  the  excitement  of  this 
interview. 

"Madame,  until  you  can  bring  me  back  my  little 
Green  Domino,  with  her  angel  voice  and  smile,  her 
flowers  of  Paradise,  I  shall  have  done  with  love.  And, 
woman,  her  kiss  still  lingers  on  my  brow,  cool  and 
chaste  as  that  of  a  pitying  saint ;  her  gentle  fingers  left 
no  sting  behind ;  but  the  fires  of  an  unhallowed  passion 
have  branded  your  kisses  on  my  lips,  and  your  soft 
white  hands  haunt  me  like  twining  serpents  even  in 
memory.  For,  sooth  to  say,  I  love  not  wanton  women ! " 

And  again  he  laughed  bitterly,  madly. 

"  That  word,  that  word  again !  God  pity  and  forgive 
me ! "  and  with  a  moan  like  that  of  a  stricken  or  tortured 
creature  she  rose  to  her  feet,  pressing  her  hands  wildly 
to  her  brow  as  one  amazed  and  almost  dazed  with  woe. 

Then  suddenly,  far  more  so  than  she  had  entered,  she 
rushed  from  the  apartment,  and  careless  of  consequences 
in  her  mood  of  injured  pride,  and  exasperated  more  and 
more,  fled  to  her  chamber  before  she  paused,  there  to 
find  safe  refuge  for  her  tortured  brain. 

Deliberately  and  at  a  respectful  distance  Rena  fol 
lowed,  cautiously  escorted  by  Juba,  with  his  dark  lan 
tern,  who  marvelled  much  to  see  his  stately  mistress 
changed  so  suddenly  to  an  Atalanta. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes  Mademoiselle  Minande 
rose  from  her  "  prie  Dieu,"  hastily  contrived  with  a  chair 
and  footstool  placed  behind  the  curtain — where  on  her 
knees  she  spent  so  many  moments  when  her  immediate 
services  at  his  bedside  were  not  needed — rose  to  her  knees 
and  came  to  the  side  of  the  once  more  delirious  patient. 


A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

"  I  should  have  interfered  sooner,"  she  thought,  "  but 
I  could  not,  I  dared  not,  confront  her ;  and  this  is  the 
consequence.  And  yet  I  am  glad  to  know  she  is  capable 
of  such  devotion !  It  is  a  mantle  that  covers  many  sins ! 
Poor  lady  !  her  rebuff  was  hard  to  bear ; "  and  she  sighed 
heavily. 

"Marie,  Semiramis  has  been  here,  and  my  little  ' green 
domino, ' "  said  Mazeron  Rivers.  "  I  thought,  too,  Rosolio 
had  been  here  nursing  me,  the  good  old  man,  but  it  was 
only  you,  I  suppose;  you,  being  a  fairy  incapable  of 
fatigue,  never  leave  me,  I  believe,  by  night  or  day,  which 
is  it  now  ?  " 

"  Night,  Mazeron ;  and  I  promised  Dr.  Mandamus  to 
return  and  give  you  the  medicine  myself.  Here  is  the 
first  potion ;  now  take  it  and  compose  yourself.  See,  I 
shall  sit  just  here,  I  shall  not  go  away." 

"  Well,  let  me  hold  your  hand,  then.  There,  that  is 
the  way  to  make  all  fast.  And  place  your  other  hand 
upon  my  hair,  if  you  please,  and  sing  to  me  that  pretty 
song  of  yours,  '  Portrait  charmante.'  I  like  it  better  than 
your  opera  airs,  it  soothes  me  so  and  suits  my  simple 
tastes.  Now,  Marie,  mind  you  do  not  change  into  a 
starling  and  steal  away  ! " 

And  so  engaged  she  sat  until  he  slumbered  under  the 
influence  of  the  magnetic  touch,  the  low,  sweet,  tender 
voice  of  her  who  loved  him — slumbered,  and  after  many 
hours  awoke  refreshed,  as  he  had  not  yet  done,  and  crav 
ing  aliment,  ever  at  hand  in  the  vase,  kept  warm  as  this 
was  above  the  night-lamp,  to  be  administered  by  the  care 
ful  nurse,  who  knew  so  well  how  to  sustain  without 
surfeiting  sick  nature. 

When  Dr.  Mandamus  came  at  daylight  he  found  liia 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  249 

patient  better,  pronounced  him  out  of  danger,  and  the 
crisis  passed.  And  so  in  truth  was  that  of  Isabella  Ther- 
mor — a  crisis  scarce  less  desperate,  perhaps. 

Graver,  paler,  but  not  a  particle  less  self-possessed,  did 
she  appear  at  the  breakfast  table  of  the  succeeding  day 
than  she  had  done  on  the  morning  of  the  doctor's  revela 
tion  to  her  and  her  secret  resolution. 

Nor  was  that  midnight  visit  ever  suspected  by  any  one 
of  those  who  had  not  shared  her  confidence,  save  Madem 
oiselle  Minande. 

She  had  received  a  shock  on  that  occasion  that  had 
brought  her  suddenly  to  her  feet — and  as  successfully  as 
ever  was  paralytic  patient  roused  to  life  by  a  galvanic 
battery ;  a  shock  that  caused  her  brain  to  act  anew,  and 
her  blood  to  flow  in  healthier  currents  through  her  veins. 

At  once  and  forever  had  the  scales  fallen  from  her 
eyes ;  for  whether  with  or  without  reason,  she  believed  in 
the  motto  of  "in  vino  veritas,"  and  related  the  same  say 
ing  to  the  drunkenness  of  delirium. 

Physicians  best  know  whether  she  was  correct  in  this 
connection ;  but  for  my  own  part,  I  attach  little  conse 
quence  as  a  general  thing  to  the  ravings  of  the  fevered 
brain,  save  when  they  happen  to  proceed  from  the  cause 
of  the  malady  itself,  which  certainly  was  not  now  the 
case. 

But  for  the  home-thrust  of  Major  Eavenshaw's  slender 
sword,  there  is  little  cause  to  believe  that  Mazeron  Rivers 
would  have  been  ill  in  body,  however  mentally  aggrieved, 
or  that  Mademoiselle  Minande  would  ever  have  approached 
him  again,  or  that  he  would  have  long  retained  his  anger 
against  the  now  repulsed  and  repentant  Isabella  Thermor. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  eifect  was  final,  and  her  love  for 


250  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

him  as  effectually  eradicated  as  ever,  to  use  a  harsh  com 
parison,  was  tumor  by  the  knife  of  the  surgeon — and 
with  scarce  less  pain. 

She  would  not  have  lived  over  again  that  night  she  had 
spent  after  her  visit  to  the  pavilion  for  the  wealth  of  the 
Indies;  and  she  turned  to  Major  Ravenshaw  with  an 
affection  she  had  not  conceived  it  possible  to  feel  for  him 
before  as  her  shield  and  refuge  from  all  hard  words  and 
dark,  unjust  suspicions  in  the  future. 

There  was  no  longer  the  least  desire  on  her  part  to 
seek,  or  even  inquire  for  Mazeron,  whose  improvement 
wras,  however,  daily  reported  to  her  by  the  delighted 
Major  Ravenshaw,  happy  and  grateful  in  this  recovery 
as  a  child  who  has  been  spared  a  whipping. 

Clara  Lindsay  looked  on  all  this  change  of  mood  and 
marvelled  much. 

During  the  convalescence  of  Mr.  Rivers  this  young 
lady  kindly  assisted  Mademoiselle  Minande  in  the  light 
task  of  nursing — or  rather  amusing — a  merely  fanciful 
patient.  On  one  occasion  she  happened  to  pause  at  the 
door  of  the  pavilion,  and  was  thus  accidentally  witness 
to  a  little  masque,  or  pantomime,  held  for  his  benefit  and 
amusement,  on  one  calm  summer's  twilight,  by  the  light 
of  a  shaded  lamp,  in  the  precincts  of  his  chamber ;  which 
scene  having  noiselessly  witnessed  she  deemed  it  wisest  to 
noiselessly  withdraw,  unseen  by  the  actors. 

On  this  occasion,  just  as  he  had  done  years  before, 
Rosolio  led  in  the  little  green  domino,  attired,  as  then, 
in  her  long,  transparent  veil,  her  robes  of  snow,  her 
silken  demi-mask,  leaving  alone  exposed  the  little 
rounded  chin  and  snowy  throat,  with  which  we  are 
acquainted. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  251 

And  now,  as  in  those  vanished  years,  she  placed  on 
tn«  pillow  of  her  lover  a  bouquet  of  the  same  odorous 
flowers  that  had  once  seemed  to  him  equivalent  to  blooms 
of  Paradise,  and  of  which  he  had  so  spoken  to  Mrs. 
Thermor,  in  his  half-delirious  mood,  it  may  be  remem 
bered,  in  the  hearing  of  Mademoiselle  Minande. 

This  uttered  reminiscence  of  that  episode,  on  the 
memory  of  which  she  had  lived  for  so  many  sorrowful 
years  as  her  bread  of  life,  had  strangely  stirred  her  and 
formed  the  motive  now  of  this  little  mystification,  if 
such  it  may  be  termed,  for,  throwing  off  her  mask  after 
a  few  moments,  Mademoiselle  knelt  suddenly  beside  the 
wondering  artist  and  placed  a  ring  upon  his  finger  and 
kissed  his  brow,  and  was  (to  the  surprise  and  even 
consternation  of  Miss  Lindsay,  who  understood  only 
partly  the  scene  before  her)  received  into  his  entwining 
arms! 

Thus  kneeling,  she  heard  only  the  murmured  words 
of  Mademoiselle  Minande  to  Mazeron,  without  compre 
hending  them,  and  was  startled  in  turn  by  the  broken 
exclamations  of  delight  that  burst  from  the  lips  of  her 
now  acknowledged  lover. 

But  to  account  for  all  this  it  is  necessary  to  go  back 
to  a  little  private  episode  enacted  between  the.  two  the 
day  before,  without  witnesses,  accidental  or  otherwise — 
the  result  of  which  was,  ere  many  days,  made  known  to 
all  at  Birk-braes. 

It  was  on  the  morning  in  question — a  soft  and  hazy 
sunrise,  that  promised  a  burning  day — that  on  opening 
his  eyes  with  the  sb-ange  consciousness  of  being — almost 
being  born  again,  which  forms  the  chief  compensation 
of  convalescence,  for  all  that  it  still  suffers  of  weakness 


252          A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OB, 

or  unrest — that  Mazeron  Rivers  was  aware  of  the  pres 
ence  of  his  nurse  and  physician,  engaged  in  a  low-spoken 
conversation  at  the  eastern  window. 

"  He  can  certainly  dispense  with  your  attentions, 
Mademoiselle,  if  you  must  go,  and  I  shall  take  care 
to  procure  for  him  a  suitable  attendant  in  the  absence 
of  M.  Rochambeau — good  enough,  at  least,  for  a  man 
on  the  mend,  as  he  is  now;  and  as  he  never  would 
have  been,  I  fancy,  but  for  you,"  bowing  ceremo 
niously. 

"  But  is  dere  no  dangaire  dat  he  may  lapse  back  ? 
You  smile ;  give  me  den  de  word,  my  dear  doctair." 

"  Relapse,  Mademoiselle." 

"Ah !  c'est  cela,  relapse  back,  should  we  both  leave 
him ;  for,  if  so,  M.  Rochambeau  shall  remain.  I  can 
ver  well  range  to  join  my  friends  wisout  his  company  or 
escort.  I  know  well  to  travel  alone." 

"  M.  Rochambeau,  again,"  thought  Mazeron,  "  who  in 
the  deuce  is  he  ?  Whom  do  they  mean  ?  I  have  seen 
no  one  except  Jenkins.  I  think  that  they  so  called  the 
doctor's  assistant  on  that  first  day.  The  old  white- 
haired  man  that  comes  and  goes  in  the  shadow  and 
never  speaks  even  when  spoken  to — unlike  a  ghost  in 
that — and  whose  face  I  never  yet  have  distinctly  seen. 
Who,  then,  is  this  M.  Rochambeau?" 

And,  with  the  peevishness  of  all  weak  brains,  he 
began  to  puzzle  himself  over  the  identity  of  this 
unknown,  instead  of  solving  the  matter  by  one  bold 
question. 

So  he  did  not  hear  the  doctor's  assurance  that,  as  the 
wound  was  almost  healed  and  the  fever  had  arisen  from 
that  cause  alone,  a  relapse  was  out  of  the  question ;  but 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  253 

he  did  hear  very  distinctly  Mademoiselle's  answer  to  his 
last  interrogatory,  and  his  heart  was  like  a  stone  in  a 
deep  well. 

"  To-morrow,  Monsieur ;  yes,  I  go  to-morrow ;  but  I 
shall  not  forget  all  that  I  leave  behind  me,  nor,  above 
all  the  rest,  you,  Monsieur  le  Medicin ! " 

"Ah,  Mademoiselle,  vous  flattez  moi,"  and  unsuspi 
cious  of  error  in  a  phrase  he  had  once  committed  to 
memory  for  an  occasion,  he  again  bowed  profoundly, 
with  heightened  color. 

"  I  hope  some  day  to  evidence  my  reconnaisance  (I  do 
forget  the  English  to-day)  -in  a  manner — more  substantif 
— more  suitable,  Monsieur — when  I  return  to  Paris  you 
shall  receive  une  petit  boite,  vous  comprennez?" 

"Oh,  yes,  a  little  box  containing  slippers,"  pursued 
the  doctor  mentally,  "  the  inevitable  gift  of  gratitude  in 
a  feminine  condition.  I  have  already  three  and  thirty 
pairs  unmade,  and  never  to  be  made  up  I  suppose  until 
my  executor  disposes  of  them."  Quicker  than  a  flash 
had  this  thought  gone  through  his  head,  so  that  he  was 
in  time  for  her  next  remark,  or  rather  her  continuation 
of  the  subject. 

"  A  little  box,  of  which  de  receipt  please  acknowl 
edge." 

"  Certainly,  Mam'selle,  certain-monz,  and  with  much 
pleasure,  but  give  me  your  address." 

"You  will  receive  it,  Monsieur,  with  the  boite-box, 
as  you  call  it.  What  a  queer  language !  I  thought  to 
box  was  to  quarrel;  to  fight  so,"  and  she  playfully 
tapped  her  own  ears. 

"  Yes,  yes ;  we  have  many  synonyms ;  our  language  is 
rich  with  nouns." 


' 


254  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

"And  poor  with  verbs,"  shaking  her  head  merrily. 
"Only  two  tenses  in  any  one  of  your  conjugations — ours 
so  opulent  with  changes !  So  expressive." 

"  Like  the  Latin  in  that.  I  shall  go  right  home  and 
study  the  French  grammar,  just  to  realize  your  remark, 
Mademoiselle.  And  now,  farewell !  I  shall  not  call 
again  before  you  leave,  perhaps ;  he  is  so  well.  But  you 
can  trust  him  in  my  hands  until  you  see  him  once  more." 

"  That  will  be,  Monsieur,  perhaps,  nevaire ! "  she  said 
solemnly,  "  our  lives  separate  here." 

"You  surprise  me,  Mademoiselle.  I  had  thought — 
that  is,  I  had  been  infm^ned — that  between  you  there  was 
a  very  perfect  understanding;  a  sort  of  engagement, 
which  report,  nay,  pardon  me,  my  own  observation  had 
partially  confirmed." 

"Monsieur,"  she  interrupted,  with  dignity,  "I  beg 
you  will  not  lend  ear  to  any  such  reports  more,  which 
do  only  misapprehend  the  motive  of  my  conduct  to  my 
compatriot.  As  to  Mr.  Rivers,  I  fear  he  has  been  the 
victim  of  a  very  misplaced  attachment,  from  the  conse 
quences  of  which  he  suffers  now;  but  I  have  not  the 
honor  of  being  its  object.  Of  this  I  assure  you." 

"  Mademoiselle,  all  the  more  do  I  revere  your  devoted 
interest  in  this  poor  young  man,  even  if — well — well — 
some  men  are  made  of  strange  materials — all  are  not  so 
insensible.  I  for  one,  Mademoiselle,  would  rather  have 
that  little  glass  cart-wheel  on  your  hand  than  a  Queen's 
signet  ring,  and  if  you  could  make  up  your  mind  to  live 
at  Sandpiper,  my  house  and  hand  are  at  your  service.  I 
never  saw  any  woman  so  fitted  for  a  doctor's  wife,  and 
you  would  soon  get  over  this  little  affair,  and  like  me 
pretty  well.  I  think  I  am  better  than  I  seem.  I  could 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  255 

always  support  you  comfortably,  and  that  is  half  the 
battle  with  you  women." 

"  Merci,  merci,"  she  said,  with  a  heightened  color, 
and  a  cheek  on  which  laughter  in  her  own  despite 
struggled,  though  in  this  very  strife  quick  tears  of  real 
emotion  came  to  her  eyes. 

"  You  are  a  noble  man,  but  not  for  me  is  any 
man  on  earth,"  and  she  pressed  her  hand  to  her  heart. 
"  Yet  but  for  one  thing  this  little  cart-wheel,  as  you  call 
it,  on  my  hand — this  ring  you  crave — should  belong  to 
you — this  bauble  I  so  prize  !  It  has  come  down  to  me 
through  many  generations,  from  a  great  mechanic  in  the 
commencement,  and,  if  you  will  remark  more  closely,  is 
not  a  wheel,"  showing  it  to  him. 

"Ah,  yes,  I  see  it  now,  the  idea,  the  numbers !  How, 
very  quaint !  Your  ancestor  must  have  been  a — " 

"  Not  mine,  perhaps,"  she  interrupted ;  "  but  some 
day  I  will  explain.  Hazard  no  surmise  now ;  and  see 
— our  patient  wakes ! "  for  it  pleased  Mazeron  at  that 
crisis  to  indulge  in  a  long  whining  yawn,  so  as  to  pre 
vent,  perhaps,  a  repetition  of  the  doctor's  trite  courtship 
in  his  presence. 

"  Your  chocolate  is  quite  ready,  Monsieur  Mazeron," 
said  Mademoiselle,  stepping  quickly  to  his  side;  "and 
the  doctor  shall  see  you  eat  it  before  he  leaves.  He 
believes  not  how  devouring  is  your  appetite." 

"But  I  will  not  touch  it  until  the  doctor  goes," 
declared  the  refractory  patient.  "I  am  not  a  wild 
beast,  to  be  fed  in  public  at  an  extra  charge — even 
if  I  am  a  Bohemian.  What  was  it  Ravenshaw  called 
me?  Prince  Florizel?  Where  did  he  get  that  name, 
anyhow?  Do  you  know,  Doctor?" 


256  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

Pitying  the  hesitation  of  the  physician,  Mademoiselle 
interposed,  saying :  "  From  ze  '  Winter's  Night-tale.' 
Do  you  not  know  your  Shakespeare  bettaire,  gentlemen, 
zan  dat?  Florizel,  a  king's  son,  loved  Perdita,  you 
remembaire ;  a  very  pleasant  lad." 

"Ah !  Mademoiselle,  what  a  reproach  to  us  all  that  you 
should  be  able  to  set  us  aright  about  our  Shakespeare. 
Why,  what  a  reader  you  must  have  been !  I  cannot  see 
how  schoolmarms  get  time  enough  for  such  remote 
studies.  With  us,  they  usually  confine  themselves  to  the 
rudiments." 

That  strange  flutter  of  silent  laughter  that  Mazeron 
had  remarked  on  that  first  morning  of  his  close  study 
of  her  face  at  the  breakfast  table  at  Birk-braes  shook 
Mademoiselle  Minande  now — as  an  aspen  shakes  beneath 
the  breeze — but  the  doctor,  lost  in  abstract  admiration  of 
her  talents  and  attainments,  failed  to  remark  it,  or  the 
quaint  smile  upon  her  lips,  and  rising  from  his  seat  soon 
after  went  his  way. 

"  Should  you  repent,  Mademoiselle,"  he  murmured  at 
the  door,  holding  her  hand  a  moment  at  parting,  but  not 
perpetrating  a  kiss  upon  its  fair  surface — "  a  line  will 
bring  me  to  your  feet — I  never  was  so  much  in  earnest 
in  all  my  life ! "  relinquishing  her  unwilling  fingers. 

"  You  are  too  kind,"  was  all  she  replied,  but  she  felt 
that  a  good  child  had  offered  her  his  cake  and  was 
moved  thereat,  and  in  the  very  rejection  of  what  to  her 
must  have  been  an  unsavory  morsel  after  all. 

It  is  not  the  estimate  we  place  upon  our  friends  that 
decides  their  value,  but  the  preciousness  they  bear  in  the 
sight  of  the  givers  themselves;  and  Marie  Minande  well 
knew,  from  the  bitter  experience  of  her  life,  that  a  pure 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOX.  257 

and  upright  heart  is  a  gem  beyond  price — even  if  rough 
and  unpolished — still  a  gift  beyond  rubies. 

"  So  you  refused  the  doctor  ?  "  Mazeron  said  in  French, 
as  he  drained  the  last  drop  of  chocolate,  then  gave  the 
empty  cup  into  her  hand,  "  and  you  leave  me  to-morrow 
perhaps  forever?" 

"You  heard  it  all  then,  Mazeron?" 

"  Yes,  all !  I  would  have  spoken  but  for  the  fear  of 
embarrassing  him.  You,  of  course,  are  superior  to  any 
thing  of  the  kind." 

"  In  such  a  cause — yes !  It  was  a  mere  act  of  pity 
on  his  part,  as  it  seemed,  yet  very  kind  and  thoughtful. 
He  looks  upon  me  as  a  little  homeless  waif,  you  see,  and 
offered  to  shelter  me,  just  as  I  might  take  in  a  storm- 
beaten  bird  through  my  window." 

"To  cage  it  thereafter  or  drown  it?" 

"  No,  no ;  to  feed,  to  cherish  it.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  man,  nor  the  offer,  nor  his  important  services  in  your 
sick-room." 

"  Yet  you  would  not  give  him  your  little  cart-wheel 
ring  as  a  reward,  frightful  as  it  is,  and  so  evidently  glass; 
the  ring  you  had  from  the  young  girl  who  was  your 
schoolmate,  and  to  whom,  from  what  you  said  to-day,  I 
suppose  it  had  descended  from  some  carriagemaker  of 
the  time  of  Louis  the  Fair.  He  did  not  understand  this, 
however,  nor  your  mystification ;  he  thought  you  spoke 
of  your  own  ancestry." 

"And  so  I  did,  Mazeron.  I  was  that  little  girl.  My 
ancestors  were  mechanics,  and  I  am  proud  of  it." 

"And  mine  were  gentlemen,  cavaliers  of  England,  and 
I  am  proud  of  it.  Yet  what  boots  such  pride,  either  for  you 
or  me  ?  Behold  our  condition.  Marie,  we  are  Pariahs ! " 
16 


258  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

"  You  are  too  bitter,  Mazeron,  too  hopeless.  Life  is 
not  all  in  pomp  and  pageantry.  There  is  so  much  that 
is  enjoyable  that  escapes  you." 

"  Is  servitude  so  delightful  ?  " 

"Ah,  you  degrade  the  name  of  art,  by  such  a  title. 
He  who  instructs  confers  a  favor  beyond  the  power  of 
the  receiver  to  repay.  He  who  paints  a  great  picture,  or 
composes  a  great  poem,  is  the  teacher  of  centuries.  He 
is  almost  a  demigod." 

"  I  agree  with  you,  but  the  small  painter,  the  child's 
teacher,  the  Bohemian  artists  and  the  foreign  gouver- 
nante,  what  part  do  they  play  on  the  world's  stage, 
Marie?" 

"  That  is  too  much  the  subject  of  your  thoughts,  Maze 
ron.  What  part  they  play  in  the  sight  of  angels  rests 
with  themselves — that  is  the  great  consideration." 

He  turned  aside,  and  veiled  his  eyes  with  his  thin, 
trembling  right  hand,  so  finely  formed  that,  even  in  its 
attenuation,  its  perfection  was  marvellous.  The  left  lay 
carelessly  on  the  counterpane  until  suddenly  clenched  as 
if  in  a  spasm  of  pain. 

"  You  suffer,  Mazeron,"  she  said  tenderly ;  "  what  can 
I  do  for  you?"  and  she  gently  withdrew  his  hand  from 
his  brow,  to  ascertain  the  expression  of  his  face,  and,  to 
her  surprise,  found  him  weeping. 

"  Leave  me  to  die  in  solitude,"  he  said  almost  fiercely 
— "that  is  all  you  can  do,  I  suppose.  The  manner  in 
which  you  denied  the  truth  of  that  report  which  Clara 
Lindsay  circulated  showed  me  your  real  state  of  feeling. 
How  bitter  it  was  —  how  decided !  That  was  what 
encouraged  the  doctor  to  proceed  as  he  did ! " 

"  Would  you  have  had  me  admit  a  falsehood,  Maze- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     AVON.  259 

ron?"  she  asked  huskily.  "He  ought  not  to  have 
inquired.  Had  I  dreamed  of  his  subsequent  intention, 
I  should  scarcely  have  answered  him  so  explicitly." 

"Yet  you  alluded  to  niy  disappointment.  That  was 
very  cruel  of  you,  Marie,  and  a  work,  I  think,  of  super 
erogation." 

"  Not  so.  A  just  man,  like  Dr.  Mandamus,  ought  to 
be  put  in  possession  of  the  truth.  He  has  heard — he 
will  hear  more  rumors  impugning  your  honor  and  intel 
ligence.  I  wished  him  to  understand  matters  clearly." 

"And  you  think  I  have  been  victimized,  Marie? — 
hardly  dealt  with?" 

"To  some  extent  I  do;  but  you  yourself  have  been 
much  to  blame;  y,ou  fostered  your  own  delusion.  It 
was  yourself  you  loved,  like  Narcissus ;  and  flattery  was 
your  mirror.  As  for  Mrs.  Thermor — " 

"  Do  not  mention  her,"  he  broke  forth ;  "  I  cannot  tell 
you  the  shame  and  confusion  I  feel  when  I  think  of  her 
scorn  and  my  humiliation.  I  wish  I  could  forget  as 
utterly  as  I  repudiate  the  very  thought  of  my  misplaced 
passion;  for  after  all  it  was  another — another — I  truly 
loved ;"  and  he  bent  his  blazing  eyes  full  on  the  face  of 
Marie — now  beside  him. 

"  Yes ;  I  know,"  she  said  faintly ;  "  your  little  l  green 
domino ;'  I  have  heard  it  all  from  Madame  Burgenheim. 
It  was  she  who  gave  you  the  opal  ring ;  she  who  sent 
back  to  you  that  of  the  twined  serpents." 

"  AVhich  I  consecrate  to  all  the  furies  from  this  hour," 
he  cried,  drawing  off  from  his  finger  the  ring  he  wore, 
impulsively,  and  hurling  it  far  out  in  the  green  sward 
among  the  rosebushes,  through  the  open  window  near  his 
bed,  whence  it  was  nevej  rescued.  "It  is  you  that  I 


260  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

love  only,  Marie !  Worship  !  Adore !  You  only  that 
can  make  being  endurable  to  a  poor,  weak  dreamer, 
whose  reason,  whose  life  you  have  saved ;"  and  he  ex 
tended  his  arms  to  her  piteously,  as  a  yearning  child 
might  do  to  its  mother. 

But  she,  folding  hers,  came  not  at  his  summons. 

"  You  mistake  gratitude  for  affection,  my  friend,"  she 
said  coldly,  as  she  withdrew  to  the  embrasure  of  the 
eastern  window,  which  the  sun  was  now  flooding  with 
radiance,  and,  seating  herself  beside  it,  drew  out  her 
Penelope's  web  of  crochet  work. 

"  I  am  not  delirious,  Marie,  nor  are  you  any  longer 
the  keeper  of  a  fevered  lunatic,"  he  began;  but  the 
absurdity  of  his  situation  struck  him  forcibly  as  he  heard 
her  counting  aloud  the  stitches  of  her  netting:  "Un, 
deux,  trois ;  ah !  voila  un  que  est  manque"  and  she  com 
menced  the  work  of  unravelling. 

"  You  are  hard  of  heart  and  cruel,  Marie." 

"  I  have  never  been  so  esteemed,  Mazerou.  I  am 
sorry  you  think  so  ill  of  me.  I  had  thought  at  least  to 
have  secured  your  confidence,"  she  replied  gently. 
"Quaire,  cinq,  six — mais  qui  va  bien  encore!"  and  she 
netted  again. 

"  Was  there  never  a  time  in  which  you  might  have 
loved  me,  Marie  Minande  ? "  asked  the  sick  man,  ele 
vating  himself  slightly  on  his  elbow  with  the  aid  of  his 
pillow.  "  Was  Constance  Lindsay  quite  wrong  in  the 
conjecture  she  set  afloat,  or  did  she  see  clearly  into  your 
frigid  bosom  with  those  spear-like,  serpent  eyes  of 
hers?" 

"  There  was  a  time,  Mazeron,"  she  answered  low. 

"But    that    time    is   over,  you   would    say,   Marie 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  261 

Minande.  And  shall  I  tell  you  why  ?  It  is  because  I 
am  baffled  and  unsuccessful.  The  would-be  genius 
whom  your  own  sagacity  first  stripped  of  his  borrowed 
plumes — the  mocked  and  discarded  lover,  the  trampled 
vagabond,  the  beaten  hound  of  a  circle  of  arrogant  aris 
tocrats,  the  weakling,  the  dreamer,  the  beggar — can  have 
no  part  in  the  infinite,  calm  and  proud  self-sustaining 
dignity  of  your  life  and  your  ambition." 

"  But  now,"  she  said ;  "  but  now  I  was  to  you  the 
'  petite  gouvernante/  the  '  little  grisette,'  even,  whose 
insignificance  alone  protected  her  in  your  sight  from 
being  an  object  of  derision  in  comparison  with  the  queen 
of  your  affections  ;  yet  I  am  unchanged  in  every  respect. 
How  then  can  I  comprehend  this  sudden  burst  of  emo 
tion,  of  admiration,  or  attribute  it  to  aught  beyond 
your  own  feeble  and  excitable  condition?  Samson's 
strength  will  return  with  his  hair.  Poor  ringlets, 
how  sadly  you  were  shorn,"  she  thought ;  "  but  I 
have  every  one  all  safe,  nevertheless;  and  then,  and 
then,  old  feelings,  old  prejudices  will  assert  them 
selves." 

"  Never,  Marie — never !  But  if  you  abandon  me  now 
I  cannot  answer  for  consequences.  Oh,  woman  !  wisest, 
purest,  best,  most  lovely  to  look  upon  of  all  I  have  ever 
known — a  creature  beyond  humanity  almost — forsake 
me  not  in  my  weakness  and  despair !  Your  life  is  vowed 
to  good  works.  You  are  a  saint — an  angel !  Take  me, 
then,  under  your  sheltering  wings ;  protect  me,  guide 
me,  love  me,  save  me  from  myself;  be  my  staff  of 
strength,  my  rock  of  hope,  my  pillar  of  light !  Be  my 
beloved  wife ! " 

"  You  have  spoken  at  last  the  words  that  require  an 


262  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

answer,"  she  said,  laying  aside  her  work  sadly.  "All  the 
rest,  however  enthusiastic  and  devoted,  were  tame  com 
pared  to  these.  I  will  reply  to  you  when  I  shall  have 
received  the  consent  of  your  green  domino,  not  before, 
and  when  I  may  justly  wear  her  opal  ring.  Until  then 
be  patient.  I  must  unravel  your  past,  and  you — is  there 
nothing  you  wish  to  learn  of  mine  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  Marie ;  you  are  perfection  !  Whatever  you 
tell  me  will  suffice  me  as  entirely  as  if  an  angel  from 
heaven  descended  to  reveal  to  me  your  past." 

"  In  this  respecf  we  differ,  Mazeron,  as  perhaps  in  one 
other — in  outspoken  openness  of  affection.  But  I  too 
have  a  history  which  yon  must  know  before  I  can  in 
any  way  reply  to  your  rec  uest  that  our  two  lives  may  be 
one.  I  will  remain  one  day  longer,  and  then  you  shall 
hear  all  that  will  interest  or  concern  you  to  know.  Now 
I  must  leave  you  in  the  care  of  Juba  while  I  take  my 
breakfast,  for  I  am  still  fasting  and  weary  with  my  long 
night's  vigil." 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and  before  she  gave 
up  her  watch  to  the  nightly  attendant,  who  for  the 
nonce  was  Juba  himself — M.  Rochambeau,  about  whom 
he  had  forgotten  to  inquire,  being  wearied  out — Mazeron 
renewed  his  fervent  suit  to  Mademoiselle  Miuande. 

He  seized  the  moment  when  she  was  giving  him  his 
sleeping  draught  to  take  her  hands  in  his,  press  them  to 
his  lips,  and  to  murmur  his  supplications  in  her  not  un 
willing  ear. 

"  Have  I  not  enjoined  you  to  be  patient  ?  "  she  said, 
reprovingly.  "This  is  ungenerous,  Mazeron,  and 
unwise.". 

"  Then  say  that  you  still  love  me,  Marie." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  263 

"Have  I  ever  told  you  that  I  did  not?  I  only 
acknowledged  that  at  one  time  it  was  not  impossible.  I 
must  think  and  pray  before  I  answer  you." 

"  No,  no ;  you  must  tell  me  now,  Marie.  My  rest, 
perhaps  my  life,  depends  upon  that  simple  assertion. 
Say  '  I  love  you,  Mazeron.'  The  words  are  not  hard  to 
repeat.  Say  them,  my  Marie.  They  will  act  upon  me 
like  a  charm." 

"  But  simple  repetition  means  nothing." 

"  I  know,  but  the  very  sound  will  comfort  me." 

"  Be  satisfied,  then.  Mazeron,  I  love  you !  "  And 
bending  over  him  for  an  instant,  she  lightly  touched  her 
lips  to  his  brow,  and  vanished  like  the  figment  of  a 
dream. 

Nor  did  she  return  to  him  again  until  the  little  masque 
scene  was  enacted — which  Constance  Lindsay  paused 
before  the  window  to  observe — and  making  wings  to  her 
feet,  flew  forth  at  once  to  repeat  in  strictest  confidence  to 
each  in  turn  of  the  household  of  Birk-braes. 

In  this  little  episode  Mrs.  Thermor  recognized  the 
motive  of  Mademoiselle's  advent  to  Birk-braes,  and 
promised  herself  on  the  first  convenient  day  thereafter 
to  acquaint  her  titled  relative  of  the  matter  through  the 
medium  of  a  long  epistle. 

"  She  little  thought  what  she  was  doing  when  she  sent 
her  here,"  mused  Isabella  Thermor,  "but  Madame 
Burgenheim  knew,  of  course,  bete — match-maker — that 
she  is !  Well,  well !  It  is  better  so — very  suitable — 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  thank  heaven  I  can  see 
Bottom,  the  weaver — as  he  is,  at  last." 

Very  like  Titania  she  looked,  to  be  sure,  at  that 
moment — a  woman  who  weighed  one  hundred  'and  sixty 


264  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

pounds  avoirdupois,  and  carried  her  flesh  splendidly,  but 
certainly  was  no  fairy. 

On  the  tenth  of  June,  after  a  polite  interview  with 
Mrs.  Thermor  and  Major  Ravenshaw,  in  which  gracious 
things  were  said  on  either  side  and  before  Eugenie's  re 
turn  from  Baltimore,  Mr.  Rivers  and  Mademoiselle  Mi- 
nande,  accompanied  by  M.  Rochambeau,  left  Birk -braes 
for  Baltimore,  whence,  after  the  nuptial  knot  had  been 
tied,  they  meant  to  sail  for  Havre. 

As  she  left  the  pavilion,  after  this  ordeal  was  over — 
one  made  necessary  by  circumstances — Mrs.  Thermor 
said  to  her  lover,  "  Did  you  notice  that  little  red  glass 
ring  of  Mademoiselle's  on  her  artist's  hand ;  was  it  not 
ridiculous?"  And  both  laughed  heartily. 

The  rich  are  so  amused  at  sentiment  in  the  poor. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night. — BYRON. 
What  business  had  they  there  at  such  a  time  ? — BYRON. 

IT  was  a  gala  night,  that  fourteenth  eve  of  June,  in 
which  countless  stars  shone  down  from  the  dark 
purple  hall  of  heaven  like  angel  eyes  watching  the  chil 
dren  of  earth  at  their  revels ;  shone  on  the  illuminated 
gardens,  the  rose-wreathed  bowers,  the  many-windowed 
mansion  of  Birk-braes,  all  ablaze  with  the  radiant  light 
that  lamps  and  chandeliers  flung  out  upon  the  bosom  of 
the  tranquil  night  through  crystal  and  lace,  through 
casement  and  drapery. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  265 

The  fishermen  returning  late  with  their  loaded  boats 
saw  from  the  calm  Chesapeake  the  unwonted  illumina 
tion,  and  rocked  idly  on  their  oars  for  some  time  to  enjoy, 
observe  and  conjecture  about  the  unusual  splendor. 
Nothing  but  a  marriage  feast,  they  thought  in  their  sim 
plicity,  could  justify  such  lavishness  of  light,  and  so  they 
went  home  to  tell  their  families  that  the  rich  widow 
Thermor  was  that  night  entering  into  her  second  nup 
tials. 

It  might  almost  as  well  have  been  so,  for  all  the  free 
dom  the  poor  lady  in  question  should  evermore  enjoy 
from  the  presence  of  her  devoted  knight,  Major  Raven- 
shaw,  who  had  followed  her  like  her  own  shadow  from 
room  to  room,  from  garden  to  garden,  during  the  whole 
busy  time  of  her  preparation. 

From  Baltimore  Genie  had  returned  loaded  with  para 
phernalia  and  flowers,  and  the  chartered  steamboat  that 
brought  down  the  guests  to  Sandpiper  was  burdened  as 
well  with  fruits  and  wines  and  confections  rich  and  rare 
enough  for  the  table  of  a  king. 

A  new  service  of  decorated  china  had  been  added  to 
that  already  possessed  by  Mrs.  Thermor  by  the  thought- 
fulness  of  Major  Raveushaw,  and  the  extension  tables  of 
the  whole  Bay  settlement  had  been  brought  into  requisi 
tion  to  set  the  magnificent  refreshments  on,  in  the  form 
of  an  immense  capital  letter  H,  which  filled  the  spacious 
basement  dining-room,  built  expressly  for  a  banqueting 
hall,  with  arched  and  lofty  dome,  long  and  wide  in  ex 
tent,  and  marble-paved,  where  two  hundred  guests,  with 
out  crowding,  could  be  entertained  and  feasted. 

The  ancient  table-cloths  of  damask,  as  thick  and  glossy 
as  brocade  satin,  and  which  were  heirlooms  in  the  Ther- 


266  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

mor  family,  their  ancestor  having  been  a  famous  Flemish 
weaver,  who  made  his  immense  fortune  by  the  creation 
of  such  superb  napery  as  became  a  specialty. 

These  magnificent  cloths  had  been  respectfully  resur 
rected  for  the  occasion  from  the  tombs  of  the  Capulets — 
an  enormous  cedar  chest,  safeguard  from  moths — and 
subjected  to  a  bleaching  process,  known  to  all  accom 
plished  Southern  laundresses,  so  as  to  shine  again  in  all 
their  pristine  snow  and  purity. 

An  "  Epergne  "  in  the  centre  of  the  cross  piece  of  the 
simulated  H  bore  fifty  waxen  lights  in  magnificent  can 
delabra,  grouped  in  pyramidal  shapes,  and  also  coeval 
with  the  earliest  Thermor. 

As  many  more,  scattered  at  intervals  in  the  same 
stately  style  of  adornment,  illuminated  each  of  the  two 
long  tables,  ornamented  with  snowy  pyramidal  cakes, 
vases  of  flowers  and  stacks  of  candied  fruits,  as  was  the 
fashion  of  that  sumptuous  yet  simple  time,  before  war 
and  poverty  had  engrafted  economy  on  all  slaveholders. 

Sugar  and  service  were  cheap  in  those  days,  and  these 
have  much  to  do  with  party-giving ;  for  trained  domes 
tics  saved  all  labor  on  the  part  of  the  heads  of  establish 
ments,  except  tliat  of  the  busy,  provident  brain. 

It  was  wrorth  while  to  entertain,  when  by  the  wave  of 
a  wand,  ices  were  compounded,  frozen  and  crystal  jellies 
made,  and  perfect  cakes  baked  and  meats  roasted  and 
boiled  to  a  turn.  When  from  closets  and  chests,  and 
cupboard  and  cellar  came  forth  exquisite  china  and  rare 
cut  glass,  and  silver  and  wines,  and  damask  enough  to 
entertain  legions  of  guests,  all  without  the  touch  or 
the  wetting  of  a  finger  on  the  part  of  the  hostess,  and 
by  the  skilful  aid  of  cheerful,  intelligent  and  careful 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  267 

familiar  spirits,  most  easily  summoned  from  their  "  vasty 
deep." 

Such  were  our  slaves  in  all  wealthy,  well-regulated 
families.  Such  was  our  style  of  life.  What  are  both 
now  ? 

"  N'importe,"  as  the  French  say  with  a  shrug  and 
grimace,  which  three  in  one  (speech,  emphasis,  and  ex 
pression)  contain  more  philosophy  of  a  certain  sort  than 
Locke  has  ever  written. 

"  N'importe,"  let  us  proceed  in  the  path  of  our  story, 
nor  hover  more  over  the  abyss  of  the  inevitable. 

"  Commencons  apres  le  deluge,"  let  us  not  digress, 
even  in  the  direction  of  our  recent  ruin. 

Charles  Lamb  tells  of  a  Chinaman  who  burned  down 
a  house  to  roast  a  pig,  nay,  many  houses.  But  there  I 
am  at  it  again  in  spite  of  my  resolution. 

Let  me  cross  my  heart  this  time ! 

The  lamentations  of  Genie  at  not  having  seen  and 
taken  leave  of  her  dear  Mademoiselle  Minande  were 
heard  above  all  the  clinking  of  glass  and  china  and  the 
tuning  cf  viols  at  Birk-braes,  and  she  was  only  partially 
consoled  for  this  disappointment  by  the  arrival  of  her 
cousins,  Rose  and  Lionel  Blamire,  just  in  time  for  the 
festival.  They  had  seen  Mademoiselle  in  Baltimore  on 
the  day  preceding  her  marriage,  and  were  the  bearers  of 
many  affectionate  messages  to  the  regretful  Genie — 
among  which  were  numberless  promises  and  assurances 
of  ultimate  meeting  which,  improbable  as  they  might 
have  seemed  to  more  considerate  minds,  Genie's  ardently 
embraced  as  stable  truths,  fast  anchored  in  the  future. 

The  string  of  Roman  pearls  which  had  constituted 
Mademoiselle  Minande's  sole  ornament  while  at  Birk- 


268  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

braes  was  carefully  wrapped  in  cotton  and  placed  in  a 
pretty  box  and  sent  to  Genie  with  prayer  that  she  would 
keep  the  beads  always,  and  even  wear  them  sometimes, 
for  the  sake  of  the  giver,  if  not  for  their  intrinsic  value, 
and  over  this  simple  present  she  wept  many  tears. 

"  It  is  positively  a  very  good  imitation,  and  you  may 
wear  them  at  the  festival  since  your  heart  is  set  upon  it, 
my  love ;  but  afterward  consign  them  to  your  drawer. 
Why,  Genie,  if  they  were  real  pearls  the  price  would  be 
fabulous ;  they  are  so  large,  but  as  it  is  you  could  buy 
them  for  ten  dollars,  wax  beads  of  all  things ! " 

"  I  don't  care,  mamma,  I  value  them  more  than  if  they 
were  d'a  nonds.  Her  hand  has  touched  them,  her  sweet, 
white,  gentle  hand.  She  has  worn  them  in  her  hair — 
her  soft,  black  silky  hair.  Oh !  mamma,  I  shall  never 
love  any  one  half  so  well  again — never !  don't  mock  my 
little  present." 

There  came  a  day  when  that  gift  was  highly  estimated, 
and  for  its  own  sake,  by  more  than  Genie,  from  whom 
thousands  of  dollars  could  not  have  purchased  it  now ! 

But  if  the  daughter  had  been  made  happy  through  the 
means  of  the  Blamires,  not  less  did  they  bear  sweet  min 
istry  to  the  spirit  of  the  mother,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter 
sent  by  a  private  hand  from  New  York  to  Baltimore  (for 
in  the  former  city  its  writer  had  already  arrived)  promis 
ing  the  presence  of  the  Countess  Cluche  herself  at  an 
early  day — perhaps  on  the  very  next — at  Birk-braes. 

She  had  anticipated  her  visit  by  three  mouths,  partly 
because  they  could  do  no  longer  without  Mademoiselle 
Minande  at  Les  Hirondelles,  and  partly  for  reasons  that 
would  be  explained  later.  Might  she  hope  for  a  hearty 
welcome  from  her  aunt  and  cousin  ? 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  269 

The  letter  closed  abruptly  after  this  so  easily  answered 
question,  which,  however,  the  writer  thereof  must  receive 
a  reply  to  in  person,  as  it  seemed,  since  her  coming  was 
so  suddenly  announced. 

Mrs.  Thermor  arranged  to  give  her  cousin  her  own 
bed-room  until  the  throng  occasioned  by  the  festival 
should  be  over  (should  she  arrive  on  the  fourteenth),  and 
retire  for  one  night  into  her  spacious  dressing-room  with 
Genie,  after  which  necessity  two  of  the  handsomest  rooms 
at  Birk-braes  were  to  be  placed  at  the  disposition  of  her 
relative  while  she  remained  her  guest,  and  grace  it  with 
her  aristocratic  presence. 

"  She  must  be  quite  an  eccentric  person  to  do  such  im 
pulsive  things,  yet  the  writing  is  that  of  a  staid,  sensible 
woman,"  said  Major  Ravenshaw,  who  believed  in  chi- 
rography  apropos  of  character.  "  For  my  own  part,"  he 
continued,  "  I  wish  she  had  remained  at  home  two 
months  longer." 

"  It  is  quite  an  honor  to  receive  her  at  any  time,"  re 
joined  Mrs.  Thermor,  pensively,  "  my  own  dear  cousin 
— niece,  I  should  say,  perhaps — but  at  our  age  it  seems 
so  absurd  that  one  should  occupy  so  much  the  superior 
position  to  the  other.  We  are  about  the  same  age  I 
believe." 

"Ah,  then  she  is  an  old  maid  with  lap  dogs.  Pardon 
me,  Isabella,"  as  he  saw  a  shadow  flit  over  her  fair  brow ; 
"you  know  a  widow  is  so  different  from  a  single — 
woman — a  widow  is  not  very  old  at  fifty." 

"A  widower,  you  mean,"  retorted  Isabella,  somewhat 
sharply ;  "  I  beg  you  will  try  and  remember  my  age 
better,  Major  Ravenshaw,  when  you  apologize.  I  am 
just  thirty-nine." 


270  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know,  very  young  for  a  widow ;  but  if 
you  were  sixty,  Isabella,  as  handsome  as  you  are,  it 
would  make  no  difference  to  me." 

"A  very  appreciable  one  to  me,  Major  Ravenshaw,  I 
assure  you.  I  count  every  day  of  value  now — every 
hour,  indeed." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know  the  sands  run  very  fast  after  fifty, 
and—" 

Just  then  they  were  interrupted  by  the  abrupt  entrance 
of  Rena,  who,  in  a  very  excited  manner,  laid  her  com 
plaint  before  the  sovereign  lady  of  Birk-braes! 

"  Mistress,  dere  is  a  real  'bellion  down  in  de  freezin' 
cellar,  'mong  de  ice-cream  hands,  and  Uncle  Duff  says 
he  can't  make  dem  boys  beat  de  cream  as  dey  freezes  to 
save  his  life,  widout  you.  remands  'em  to,  because,  an'  de 
vanilla  done  give  out  an'  de  pineapples." 

"  Good  heavens,  Rena !  I  am  coming.  It  is  really 
wonderful  that  Duff  cannot  control  half  a  dozen  stupid 
boys ;  and  you  know  very  well  yourself  where  to  get  the 
vanilla  beans,  and  as  to  the  pineapples,"  but  by  this  time 
her  voice  was  fading  out  of  hearing,  and  it  seemed  to 
Major  Ravenshaw,  infatuated  man  that  he  was,  that  with 
it  all  sweet  sounds  had  vanished. 

This  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
day  of  the  "  Feast  of  Roses,"  and  the  love-sick  major 
saw  the  object  of  his  affections  no  more  until,  robed  in 
blue  satin,  with  a  tiara  of  pearls  and  diamonds  on  her 
sunny  head,  her  neck  and  arms  bound  with  the  same 
rich  jewels,  she  stood  unmasked  to  receive  her  guests 
(representing  no  particular  character,  but  dubbed,  by  Miss 
Constance  Lindsay,  Artemesia)  in  the  great  drawing- 
room  opening  on  the  umbra,  with  one  hand  gracefully 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  271 

reposing  on  a  marble  urn,  in  which  cards  were  dropped 
by  all  who  came  masked,  to  be  drawn  forth  and  referred 
to  later  in  the  evening  by  the  fair  lady  supposed  to  be 
caressing  the  ashes  of  her  husband  in  her  draught  of 
pleasure  on  that  memorable  occasion. 

These,  of  course,  disclosed  the  real  name  of  each 
masker,  male  or  female,  but  as  yet  they  were  honorably 
sealed,  even  from  the  eyes  of  the  mistress  of  the  revels. 

The  little  steamer  had  brought  down  more  than  a 
hundred  guests  from  Baltimore,  and  as  many  more  had 
assembled  from  the  Bay  settlement  and  some  remote 
neighborhoods,  so  that  the  halls  and  saloons  were  filled, 
yet  not  overcrowded,  with  brilliant  costumes  and 
grotesque  characters. 

All  of  Moore's  Oriental  people  were  there.  His 
"Hafed"  and  "Hinda,"  his  "Nourmahal"  and  "Na- 
mounia,"  his  "Lalla  Rookh"  and  "Feramorz,"  his 
"Fadladeen"  and  "Veiled  Prophet  of  Korassan,"  and 
the  rest,  whose  names  are  legion.  And  Byron's  tragic 
crew;  his  "Parasina"  and  "Hugo,"  his  "Haidee"  and 
"Lambro,"his  "Conrad"  and  "Medora,"  his  "Lara" 
and  "Gulnare,"  his  "Myrrha"  and  "  Sardanapalus." 

His  Merry  Andrew  too,  Mazeppa,  and  Laura  and 
Beppo,  and  Alp,  the  Adrian  renegade,  very  absurdly 
represented  in  burlesque,  and  I  regret  to  include  in  such 
company  his  Prisoner  of  Chillon,  travestied  into  a  very 
hairy  old  beggar  with  a  tattered  hat  and  a  clanking  chain 
around  one  leg,  who  wenttibout  asking  for  bread — not 

"  Such  as  for  a  thousand  years 
Was  moistened  by  captives'  tears," 

but  fresh,  if  crusts. 

Southey,  too,  had  furnished  his  quota,  and  "  Thalaba " 


272  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

and  "  Kehama"  contributed  no  little  to  the  merriment  of 
the  evening,  solemnly  ludicrous  as  they  were  in  their 
separate  vocations. 

I  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  give  details,  even 
if  the  imagination  of  my  readers  did  not  at  once  com 
pass  and  comprehend  the  Bayaderes  and  the  Arab  Chief, 
and  the  duplicates  of  all  the  poetic  characters,  though 
with  a  separate  getting  up,  in  many  cases,  that  left  room 
for  conjecture  as  to  which  might  be  correct,  and  the 
"Zouaves"  and  Moriscoes  that  formed  a  background  for 
the  brilliant  pageant. 

Some  daring  masquers  had  gone  back  to  the  time  of 
Cleopatra,  and  represented  Egypt's  Queen,  with  Antony 
and  Charmian  as  accessories,  going  about  dolefully,  with 
a  small  stuffed  serpent  lying  on  her  white  bosom,  fearful 
to  more  than  one. 

When  the  evening  was  about  half  over  two  Bedouins 
came  in  closely  wrapped  in  their  characteristic  gowns, 
both  evidently  females,  to  the  close  observer,  from  their 
step  and  bearing,  though  one  of  them  was  nearly  a  head 
taller  than  the  other,  and  might,  but  from  some  slight 
peculiarities  of  the  sex,  have  passed  readily  for  the  man 
she  simulated. 

The  other  was  unmistakably  young  and  a  girl  of 
slender  and  graceful  proportions. 

These,  having  dropped  their  cards  into  a  marble  vase 
and  made  a  profound  obeisance  to  the  mistress  of  the 
revels,  were  about  to  pass  on,  when  she  apprehended 
them  by  grasping  a  long  hanging  sleeve  of  each  in  one 
of  her  own  soft  hands. 

So  far  she  had  detected,  or  thought  she  had  done  so, 
an  acquaintance  under  every  disguise;  but  these  were 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  273 

evidently  strangers,  and  something  in  their  height  and 
gait  had  irresistibly  suggested  to  her  the  presence  of 
Mazeron  Rivers  and  his  bride. 

The  masks  stood  before  her  dumb  and  resistless,  bow 
ing  low  and  shaking  their  heads  stupidly  in  reply  to  all 
of  her  questions  and  even  demands. 

It  was  their  cue  to  understand  Arabic  only,  so  that 
she  was  obliged  to  let  them  depart  without  the  satisfac 
tion  she  craved,  but  which  she  knew  would  come  later, 
when  at  the  announcement  of  supper  all  should  un 
mask. 

In  the  meantime  two  bands  in  separate  ball-rooms 
were  pealing  forth  their  splendid  music,  chiefly  from 
"  Robert  le  Diable  "  and  "  Massaniello ; "  the  quadrille 
and  waltz  and  galop  of  the  period  succeeded  each  other 
in  strict  and  rapid  succession.  The  mixture  of  bright 
colors  and  the  whirl  of  the  dancers,  the  gleam  of  jewels 
and  the  rich  odor  of  flowers,  bewildered  the  beholder 
and  excited  every  sense  to  rapturous  recognition. 

In  a  pause  of  the  music  one  of  those  silent  spells  fell 
over  the  festive  halls,  not  uncommon  at  entertainments 
where  mirth  and  exertion  commence  too  fiercely  to  be 
adequately  sustained ;  and  at  this  dumb  crisis  of  the 
dance  fever,  encouraged  by  admiring  friends  no  doubt, 
Miss  Lindsay,  who  sustained  the  character  of  "  Hinda  " 
in  the  "  Fire  Worshippers,"  wailed  out  her  own  funeral 
song — a  favorite  one  of  hers,  be  it  remembered. 

The  shrill  coronach  of  "Araby's  Daughter  "  struck  on 
the  unprepared  ear  of  the  crowd,  like  some  insect  pipe 
succeeding  the  concert  of  the  mocking  bird,  and  as  the 
quavering  notes  died  away,  another  richer  voice  took  up 
the  strain,  and  the  simple  air  and  words  of  the  last  song 
17 


A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

of  "  Nourmahal "  rang  out  like  the  clear,  sweet  tones  of 
the  nightingale. 

A  second  "Nourmahal"  (for  one  there  was  already  in 
the  motley  crowd)  stood  with  myrtle  wreath  lifted  high 
above  her  head,  while  from  her  lips  issued  a  strain  t 
seraphs  might  have  been  content  to  pour.  The  dress 
she  wore  was  richly  yet  lightly  embroidered  in  flowers 
of  gold  on  a  warp  of  muslin  fleecy  as  gauze,  such  as 
sultanas  alone  are  privileged  to  wear,  and  from  her  tiara 
of  sapphires,  that  quivered  like  blue  flames,  fell  a  snowy 
veil  thickly  wrought  with  seed  pearl  and  bordered  with 
roses  that  concealed  from  every  eye  her  face  and 
the  contour  of  her  form — all  save  the  lovely  arms 
and  perfect  hands  holding  aloft  the  slender  myrtle 
crown. 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence  when  the  song  was 
over,  then  a  buzz,  a  rush,  an  effort  to  surround  the 
singer,  who  had  escaped,  however,  during  the  slight 
confusion  consequent  on  the  surprise,  and  who  disap 
peared  before  she  could  be  intercepted. 

"  It  is  Jenny  Lind,"  said  some  one.  "  I  would  know 
her  voice  among  a  thousand.  She  is  expected,  you 
know.  I  heard  her  when  in  Amsterdam." 

"  It  is  Mademoiselle,"  said  Mrs.  Thermor,  decidedly, 
"and  I  do  not  understand  the  thing  at  all.  Do  find  me 
the  Bedouins ;  they  shall  unmask  at  once.  I  am  resolved 
to  unfold  this  mystery,  Major  Ravenshaw." 

Even  as  she  spoke  the  mysterious  pair  stood  beside 
her  on  the  umbra  behind  the  window,  near  which  she 
sat  while  she  delivered  this  ukase  to  her  devoted  knight, 
and  both  unmasked  at  the  same  moment,  when  she  saw 
beneath  one  hood  the  dark,  strong  features  of  a  hand- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  275 

some  woman  of  middle  age,  and  beneath  the  other  the 
smiling  features  of  Mademoiselle  Minande. 

But  when  supper  was  announced  it  was  discovered 

that  the  Bedouins  were  gone;  nor  could  any  trace  of 

,  them  be  discovered,  and  the  card  that  they  had  dropped 

bore  this  singular  revelation  to  the  eyes  of  the  astonished 

and  indignant  hostess  and  her  sympathizing  Major : 

"  The  Countess  Cluche  and  attendant." 

"  It  is  a  shabby  trick  my  cousin  Cluche  has  paid  me, 
and  one  I  shall  never  forget,"  she  said  in  her  wrath. 

"As  to  Mademoiselle,  her  impudence  in  returning 
here  surpasses  all  I  have  ever  heard  of,  after  her  positive 
refusal  to  remain  until  after  the  festival.  But  she  is 
nothing  but  a  slave,  I  suppose,  to  the  whims  of  that  ugly 
old  maid.  My  age,  indeed !  I  recognized  her  at  once 
by  her  resemblance  to  that  affected,  out-of-date  picture — 
the  one  I  showed  you,  Major  Ravenshaw." 

"  I  remember ;  but  I  saw  no  resemblance,  save  that 
both  are  dark.  The  picture  was  beautiful,  and  tall  and 
thin.  It  must  be  the  other  sister." 

"  Why  she  looked  as  old  as  the  hills,  and  the  other 
sister  would  be  comparatively  young,  you  know,  if  she 
were  living ;  not  more  than  four  or  five  and  twenty. 
My  cousin  looked  at  least  ten  years  my  senior,  didn't 
she,  Major  Ravenshaw  ?  Yet  I  saw  the  likeness." 

"  Yes,  forty-five  if  a  day.  You  are  nine  and  thirty,  I 
believe  you  say,  Isabella?  Let  me  see" — counting  on 
his  fingers — "  whether  you  have  not  forgotten  a  year  or 
two.  When  I  went  to  Mexico,  you  were — " 

"  Just  fifteen  !  Now  do  be  quiet  with  your  dates,  and 
let  your  palm  alone." 

He  had  just  deposited  three  of  his  fingers  mysteriously 


276  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

therein,  each  representing  ten  years,  and  was  coming 
down  with  the  other  so  as  to  complete  the  abhorred 
number  that  represented  her  real  age,  when  she  made 
this  diversion. 

"  Ha !  ha !  very  good ;  very  good,  indeed.  Did  you 
mean  that  for  a  pun,  my  dear?  or  was  it  all  accident?" 

"  Not  at  all ;  and  to  show  you  that  I  intended  it,  I 
will  now  add  my  invitation  to  you  in  the  words  of  Nour- 
mahal,  to  '  fly  to  the  desert ;  oh,  fly  with  me/  for  you 
hear  the  second  supper  is  announced,  and  that  portends 
the  breaking  up  of  the  ball ;  so  come,  you  know  that  is 
the  place  for  my  good  date-palm." 

And  she  led  him  forth  triumphantly.  She  had  reason 
to  be  proud  of  her  captive,  and  she  was  beginning  to  feel 
this  now  that  the  spell  of  Mazeron  was  broken.  Yet  the 
reappearance  of  Mademoiselle  and  the  slighting  conduct 
of  her  cousin  Cluche,  were  circumstances  that  greatly 
interfered  with  her  delight  in  the  exhibition  of  her 
power  over  Major  Ravenshaw  on  that  occasion. 

"No  doubt  he  (referring  to  Mazeron)  was  in  the 
shadow,  looking  on  at  my  discomfiture,"  she  thought. 
"  He  the  only  man  who  ever  saw  the  weakness  of  Isa 
bella  Thermor's  nature,  or  who  had  power  to  sting  her 
to  the  quick !  The  only  man  she  ever — well  it  is  over 
— over  and  forever !  and  I  forgive  him.  But  her  I 
cannot  forgive,  for  by  this  time  she  knows  all  of  my 
humiliation. 

"The  Countess  Cluche,  too,  doubtless  is  admitted 
into  this  confidence,  for  she  seems  infatuated  with  these 
favorites  of  hers,  and  many  instances  of  her  aunt's  in 
fatuation  as  well,  I  suppose,  are  offered  for  her  enter 
tainment.  Her  aunt,  indeed!  Ugly,  old  dressed  up 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  277 

effigy.  I  wish  we  had  not  a  drop  of  kindred  blood  be 
tween  us. 

"  But,  thank  heaven  !  with  my  position  and  Major 
Ravenshaw's  splendid  fortune  and  soldierly  reputation, 
we  shall  be  perfectly  independent  of  her  and  her  sur 
roundings  during  our  promised  trip  to  Europe. 

"  We  must  wait  till  Genie  is  eighteen,  it  is  true,  ac 
cording  to  her  father's  foolish,  perverse  will,  or  leave  her 
behind  us,  the  last  of  which  is  simply  impossible  to  me ; 
but  the  years  will  soon  roll  round,  and  it  will  give  me 
the  greater  pleasure  to  cut ( Les  Hirondelles '  and  its 
inhabitants  and  dependents  while  we  journey  through 
the  provinces,  of  France. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  contemptible  young  couple 
will  hibernate  with  that  old  maid  to  the  end  of  mine 
and  her  own  owlish  life,  for  the  sake  of  a  small 
legacy  !  So  French  !  The  whole  proceeding  so  entirely 
French,"  curling  her  exquisite  upper  lip  in  consolatory 
scorn. 

This  mental  review  of  the  situation  took  place  after 
Mrs.  Thermor  had  retired  to  her  chamber  on  the  night 
of  the  ball,  or  rather  morning,  for  a  few  faint  rays  of 
crimson  streaked  the  gray  dawn  as  she  concluded  her 
reflections  sitting  by  the  half-open  jalousy — which  after 
drawing  carefully  together — she  left  and  threw  herself 
wearily  on  her  luxurious  bed,  which  for  the  sake  of  her 
titled  cousin  she  had  thought  of  temporarily  abandoning 
— it  may  be  remembered — on  this  occasion. 

Pleasant  dreams  soon  came  to  her  relief.  She 
thought  that  Mazeron  Rivers  knelt  beside  her  couch 
and  clasped  her  hand,  and  asked  her  for  Genie,  and 
that  she  graciously  consented,  and  was  to  be  his  mother- 


278  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

in-law,  and  that  Major  Ravenshaw  insisted  upon  it  that 
both  marriages  should  be  solemnized  on  the  same  day. 

She  woke  at  noon,  refreshed  and  rested,  and  was 
pleased  to  know  that  even  in  her  sleep  she  had  not 
entertained  one  traitorous  thought  toward  him  who  was 
BO  soon  to  be  her  husband. 

For  sleep  is  in  itself  a  treachery,  and  tries  the  integ 
rity  of  the  stoutest  heart  with  its  subtle  sophistry  that 
none  explain,  endeavor  as  they  may  to  account  for  its 
phenomena — a  treachery  and  a  mystery  ! 

When  the  festival  was  over  and  its  guests  had  all  dis 
persed,  when  the  great  banqueting  hall  had  been  restored 
to  its  original  dreariness  and  surrendered  once  more  to 
the  guardianship  of  the  Apollo  and  nine  muses  who  in 
guise  of  glossy  imitation  Parian  marble  adorned  the 
walls  like  unslumbering  ghosts — when  even  the  Lind 
says  had  gone  home  and  Major  Ravenshaw  had  agreed 
to  depart  to  return  no  more  until  the  day  fixed  upon 
for  his  nuptials,  then  and  not  till  then  Rosa  Blamire 
made  her  revelation ! 

Later,  in  confirmation  of  what  she  told,  the  following 
letter  reached  the  hand  of  Mrs.  Thermor — and  although 
it  was  never  answered,  and,  indeed,  needed  no  reply — 
it  did  much  towards  assuaging  the  storm  of  anger  in  her 
breast  against  Mademoiselle  Minande. 

We  lay  it  in  its  translated  form  before  our  readers, 
premising  that  it  was  written  in  the  character  and  ver 
nacular  of  Mademoiselle. 

All  former  letters  and  communications  from  "Los 
Hirondelles "  and  even  the  note  of  Countess  Cluche, 
signifying  her  approach  to  Birk -braes  from  New  York, 
were  in  the  chirography  of  her  friend  and  private  secre 
tary,  as  shall  be  seen. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  279 

CHAPTER   XII. 

LETTER  OF  MAKIE  EUPHROSYNE,  COUNTESS  CLUCHE. 

But  now  I  was  the  lord 

Of  this  fair  mansion,  mistress  of  my  servants, 

Queen  of  myself,  and  even  now,  but  now 

This  house,  these  servants,  and  this  same  myself 

Are  yours,  my  lord,  I  give  you  with  this  ring. 

SUAKESPEAKE. 

There  is  nothing  in  France  too  good  for  him, 
But  only  she !— SHAKESPEARE. 

A  ROMANTIC  wish  to  be  loved  for  my  own  sake 
led  me,  my  still  dear  and  honored  aunt  and  sole 
remaining  relative,  to  enter  your  family  in  the  disguise  of 
an  humble  governess,  for  which  breach  of  social  observ 
ance  and  Christian  frankness  I,  at  the  very  outset,  entreat 
your  pardon. 

That  this  will  be  granted  me  I  firmly  believe — before 
you  have  read  to  the  end  of  these  pages — in  which  my 
sole  apology  is  traced  with  the  outline  of  my  life ;  for 
nothing  short  of  a  knowledge  of  its  troubles,  and  the 
morbid  train  of  thought  to  which  these  have  given  rise, 
could  in  any  degree  extenuate  the  error  of  my  enterprise 
or  the  mystification  I  have  practised. 

Let  me  begin,  then,  with  the  death  of  my  sister 
Eugenie,  for  previous  to  that  event  I  had  been  destined 
for  a  cloister,  and  may  scarcely  have  been  said  to  know 
what  life  really  meant,  dwelling  as  I  did  contentedly  yet 
very  quietly  in  the  sweet  monotony  of  the  convent  of 
which  our  aunt  Hildegarde  was  the  Abbess. 

In  the  prime  of  her  distinguished  beauty  my  sister 
died,  and  I,  the  little  plain  cadette  of  our  race,  twelve 


280  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

years  younger,  found  my  vocation  suddenly  changed,  and 
was  summoned,  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  to  take  her 
place  at  the  head  of  our  father's  establishment. 

You  may  or  may  not  have  heard,  dear  aunt,  that  my 
mother  lost  three  children  between  the  birth  of  her  eldest 
and  her  youngest  daughters,  dying  herself  when  her  Marie 
was  scarcely  three  weeks  old.  A  son  had  succeeded  my 
sister  Eugenie's  birth,  who  lived  to  be  several  years  of  age, 
and  was  his  father's  pride,  and  after  the  loss  of  this  boy 
his  most  earnest  wish  was  to  embrace  another. 

I  was  M:  first  disappointment,  and  it  was  not  consid 
ered  safe,  I  have  since  been  told,  to  trust  me  in  his  presence 
when  an  infant,  so  deep  was  his  loathing  for  my  misfor 
tune  in  not  being  able  to  represent  his  name  and  honors. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  in  Madame  Burgenheim 
— my  sister  s  governess — a  second  mother,  and  in  that 
dear  and  gentle  sister  herself  a  protectress,  powerful  if 
not  firm.  Yet  in  spite  of  thoir  entreaties  I  was  torn 
from  their  arms  in  my  seventh  year,  to  be  sent  to  the  con 
vent  of  San  Idulfor,  where  my  father's  sister  reigned 
supreme,  and  save  at  rare  intervals  I  saw  and  knew  them 
no  more  for  years.  For  to  do  my  aunt  Hildegarde  jus 
tice,  she  loved  me  as  well  as  she  dared — not  as  she  could 
love  anything — and  yet  she  relaxed  no  severity  in  my 
favor.  I  was  the  convent  pet,  spoiled  and  indulged  by 
the  other  nuns,  who  amused  themselves  with  my  peculiari 
ties,  but  my  relative  ruled  me  with  a  rod  of  spring  steel 
— rather  than  of  iron — yet  ever  for  my  good. 

She  compelled  me  to  studious  habits  which  no  healthy, 
happy  child  ever  voluntarily  acquired;  and  I  thus  by 
degrees  learned  to  love  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  as 
else  I  might  not  have  done. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  281 

Strangely  enough  for  one  so  cold  and  stern,  my  return 
to  the  world  destroyed  her  life. 

She  was  never  seen  to  smile  after  my  father  removed 
me  from  beneath  her  care,  and  declined  rapidly  from  that 
hour,  her  last  prayers  having  been  oifered  for  me,  whom 
she  considered  lost,  save  through  a  miracle. 

Under  your  roof,  my  young  and  beautiful  aunt,  has 
that  miracle  indeed  come  to  pass  !  For  the  affection  of 
Mazeron  has  transfigured  me ;  and  thus  are  her  prayers 
and  prophecies  answered  at  last. 

But  in  the  beginning  my  life  gave  little  promise  of 
such  an  ending,  nor  did  I  leave  the  convent  of  San  Idulfor 
without  dark  misgiving  as  to  my  future  and  sorrowful 
regrets,  such  as  I  could  scarcely  make  intelligible  to  peo 
ple  of  society.  Peace,  order,  a  certain  limited  gayety 
even,  had  I  there  enjoyed.  But  from  the  first  I  found 
myself  at  "Les  Hirondelles"  in  a  gloomy  prison. 

Madame  Burgenheim,  who  had  continued  to  make 
"Les  Hirondelles"  her  home  long  after  the  completion  of 
my  sister's  education,  influenced  by  the  affection  she  bore 
her  pupil,  not  more  than  a  few  years  her  senior  (for  the 
young  widow  of  twenty  had  taken  charge  of  the  little 
girl  of  ten  soon  after  her  mother's  death),  Madame  Bur 
genheim,  dressed  in  sables  and  bearing  woe  in  every  fea 
ture,  received  me  sadly  yet  affectionately,  and  as  long  as 
she  was  permitted  to  remain  near  me  did  all  in  her  power 
to  alleviate  my  situation. 

A  year  passed  in  more  than  monastic  gloom  before  his 
intentions  were  formally  announced  to  me  by  my  father. 
He  made  these  known  to  me  on  the  arrival  of  Count 
Delmar,  his  nephew  and  his  heir,  from  a  journey  to 
Palestine.  He  had  been,  I  knew,  the  betrothed  husband 


282  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

of  my  sister — her  nuptials  with  whom  had  been  delayed 
for  years,  from  time  to  time,  by  her  own  declining  and 
peculiar  state  of  health  and  nerves — all  arising  as  was 
well  understood  by  her  companion  and  trusted  physician, 
from  her  excessive  aversion  to  the  man  her  father  had 
commanded  her  to  espouse ;  and  now  the  precious  posses 
sion  was  to  be  transferred  to  me,  to  make  sure  and  fast 
the  succession  of  Les  Cluches. 

It  did  not  accord  either  with  my  taste  or  ideas  of  pro 
priety  to  step  into  such  harness,  and  I  told  my  father 
this  in  plain  and  positive  terms  even  before  I  had  seen 
the  man  he  intended  as  my  master.  But  afterward  every 
instinct  of  my  nature  arose  in  rebellion. 

He  made  no  conditions  with  my  loathing.  He  did 
not  say,  "  You  will  be  poor,  Marie,  and  he  will  be  rich 
and  powerful,  for  my  name  must  find  its  representative  in 
my  own  blood.  Marry  him  or  not,  as  you  list.  The  loss 
is  yours,  and  unless  you  find  another  suitor  to  give  you 
your  proper  place  in  life,  you  must  return  to  your 
convent." 

Nothing  of  this — no  choice  was  given  me — he  simply 
smiled  at  my  objections  and  turned  away.  He  was  one 
of  those  men  (but  I  did  not  know  it  then)  whose  silence 
and  whose  smile  were  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the 
frowns  and  curses  of  others,  or  even  of  his  own.  More 
than  any  man  I  have  ever  known  in  real  life  he  repre 
sented  the  traits  of  the  middle  age.  Strong,  stern,  cruel 
and  uncompromising  as  he  was,  he  was  the  "  Sieur 
Ausur  "  of  the  old  chronicles,  and,  because  he  was  brave 
and  honorable  as  to  truth  and  contract,  despised  all 
weaker  virtues. 

I  tremble  sometimes,  remembering  that  I  am  of  his 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  283 

race,  lest  the  persistence  and  resolution  which  form  the 
groundwork  of  my  character  might,  in  time,  likewise 
harden  into  adamant. 

He  had  been  a  man  of  strong  passions  in  his  youth, 
we  heard,  but  what  harder  than  lava,  cooled,  or  more 
intractable  ? 

Then  turning  from  this  view  of  the  subject  I  thank 
God  earnestly  that  somewhat  of  the  softness  and  plia 
bility  of  my  mother's  nature,  of  my  sister's,  of  yours 
even,  dear  aunt,  may  temper  this  disposition  to  strong 
purpose. 

This  hardness,  which  came  to  me  with  the  blood  of 
the  La  Cluches,  did,  however,  unquestionably  lie  at  the 
root  of  that  implacable  resolution,  which  tortures  could 
not  have  changed  or  qualified,  and  which  gave  me 
strength,  to  oppose  tyranny  and  chains,  and  gain  my 
liberty ;  and  lastly,  when  the  great  obstacle  of  my  per 
sonal  freedom  was  removed  by  the  merciful  hand  of 
death  to  return  voluntarily  to  bondage  and  oppression, 
and  bear  them  firmly,  if  not  cheerfully,  to  the  end  for 
duty's  sake. 

I  will  not  weary  you  with  details  of  the  persecution  I 
endured  during  the  two  long  years  of  my  first  abode  at 
"  Les  Hirondelles." 

After  a  few  months  of  my  opposition  to  his  wishes, 
Madame  Burgenheim,  as  one  suspected  of  complicity 
with  rebellion,  was  harshly  and  hastily  dismissed  and 
forbidden  to  communicate  thereafter  in  any  manner  with 
the  heiress  of  "  Les  Hirondelles."  But  for  this  separa 
tion  I  think  like  poor  Eugenie  I  should  have  continued 
to  bear  my  loathly  lot,  and  have  imitated  the  procrastina 
tions  of  Penelope  by  the  aid  of  my  companion,  rather 


284  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

than  to  have  chosen  the  desperate  alternative  of  flight — 
but  you  will  hear  how  this  was  forced  upon  me. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  second  year  of  my  captivity, 
my  father  changed  his  tactics  and  resolved  to  give  me  a 
glimpse  of  that  brilliant  world  I  could  never  hope  to 
enter  save  as  the  wife  of  Count  Delmar. 

In  pursuance  of  this  scheme,  and  attended  ever  closely 
by  my  avowed  lover,  I  was  dragged  across  the  face  of 
Europe,  from  court  to  court,  from  city  to  city,  from  ball 
to  opera,  from  theatre  to  gallery  of  art,  until  weary  of 
sight-seeing — with  no  sympathetic  influences  to  aid  me 
in  enjoyment — I  longed  to  die ;  nay,  thought  of  death 
sometimes  as  an  escape  from  evil  that  my  own  act  might 
some  day  achieve. 

It  was  at  the  time  such  rebellious  thoughts  were  rife 
in  my  heart  that  I  heard  of  my  aunt  Hildegarde's  death, 
and  her  prayers  for  my  welfare  and  happiness,  from  the 
lips  of  my  old  convent  confessor — the  Pere  Ignace — who 
had  come  forth  from  his  seclusion  to  announce  to  me  in 
person  her  demise,  and  to  exhort  me  to  constancy,  forti 
tude  and  religion. 

He  was  my  special  Providence  on  that  trying  occa 
sion,  and  making  an  excuse  of  my  mourning  for  my 
aunt,  one  that  my  father's  pride  of  family  compelled  him 
to  admit,  I  hastened  back  to  "  Les  Hirondelles  "  resolved 
to  lose  myself  in  study  and  prayer,  and  so  defy  the  vam 
pire  of  my  peace. 

The  Count  Delmar,  who,  steeped  in  profligacy,  had 
but  feebly  dissented  from  my  sister's  wish  to  procrasti 
nate  their  union,  found  in  my  fierce  and  more  open 
opposition  an  incentive  to  passion,  and  cared  not  long  to 
conceal  its  baleful  fires. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  285 

In  the  presence  of  a  creature  whom,  as  a  substitute  for 
the  pure  and  noble  Madame  Burgenheim,  my  father  had 
placed  beside  me  in  the  light  of  a  companion,  he  dared 
soon  after  our  return  to  "  Les  Hirondelles  "  to  compel 
me  to  receive  his  odious  vows,  and  even  caresses,  while 
she,  lost  to  every  instinct  of  woman,  refused  me  assist 
ance  in  extricating  myself  from  his  loathly  entwining 
arms. 

With  his  hot  kisses  still  branded  upon  my  burning 
face,  I  flew  to  my  father  for  redress.  He  received  me 
coldly,  called  me  a  still  greater  prude  than  Eugenie  had 
been,  bade  me  submit  with  a  good  grace  to  the  addresses 
of  my  suitor,  soon  to  be  niy  husband,  with  or  without 
my  consent. 

"  You  have  seen  that  he  loved  you,  and  that  is  all  a 
woman  need  care  for,"  he  said. 

My  resolution  was  taken  promptly.  The  wife  of 
Rosolio,  whose  husband  was  then  in  the  employment  of 
Mazeron's  uncle — having,  like  Madame  Burgenheim  her 
self,  been  rudely  thrust  from  "Les  Hirondelles"  for 
alleged  sympathy  with  its  unfortunate  mistress — had 
been  my  foster-mother,  and  loved  me  well.  I  had  sup 
plied  the  place  of  her  own  dead  baby  when  she  was 
already  too  far  advanced  in  years  to  hope  for  farther  off 
spring,  and  she  had,  in  her  vigorous  middle  life,  given 
to  me,  no  doubt,  a  stamina  I  derived  not  from  my  young 
and  fragile  mother. 

With  her  assistance — the  more  freely  given  from  a 
knowledge  of  my  wrongs,  which  she  personally  resented 
— I  fled  by  night  from  "  Les  Hirondelles,"  eluding,  with 
no  small  difficulty,  the  vigilance  of  the  dragon  set  to 
keep  baleful  watch  above  me. 


286  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

Disguised  as  a  fruit-woman  going  to  the  neighboring 
town  to  sell  her  grapes  and  quinces,  I  ventured  to  ascend 
the.  diligence  and  found  safety  on  the  top  of  the  vehicle, 
while  the  interior  was  being  inspected  at  every  point. 

I  reached  Paris  undetected,  and  was  there  warmly  re 
ceived  by  the  friends  who  had  been  apprised  of  my  ap 
proach,  and  by  the  aid  of  Madame  Burgenheim  and  her 
brother,  a  physician  (once  Eugenie's)  of  great  respecta 
bility  and  some  influence,  I  managed  to  elude  all  pursuit 
of  police  or  detectives. 

This  man,  I  found  later,  had  been  a  silent  worshipper 
of  my  ill,  beautiful  sister,  and  for  her  sake  served  me. 

Of  my  residence  in  the  old  Hotel  St.  Germain  under 
the  protection  of  my  friend,  herself  in  easy  circumstances, 
my  Mazeron  has  told  you ;  for  I  was  the  little  green 
domino  whose  story,  so  far  as  he  knew,  he  related  to  you 
in  his  atelier,  as  he  tells  me.  Nor  was  the  necessity 
which  instigated  this  disguise  in  itself  a  fiction.  After  a 
slight  attack  of  varioloid,  which  left  my  eyes  in  a  pre 
carious  condition,  I  was  advised  by  my  physician — the 
Docteur  Rambouillet,  already  alluded  to — to  wear  a 
lengthened  shade,  which  might  serve  two  purposes ;  and 
to  this  precaution  I  doubtless  owe  my  indemnity  from 
identification  during  the  greater  part  of  my  stay  in  Paris. 

It  enabled  me  also  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  pursuing 
the  study  I  loved  in  the  public  galleries,  and  years  later 
to  carry  out  my  plan  for  recalling  the  heart  of  my  early 
love,  without  affording  him  the  knowledge  of  our  past 
acquaintance — the  heart  of  Mazeron  Rivers,  the  only 
man  I  have  ever  known  or  loved,  or  cared  to  have  love 
me. 

Yet  my  venture  came  as  near  being  a  wreck  as  ever 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  9     287 

did  ship,  which  only  grazed  the  breakers  and  suffered 
scathe  and  hardship  in  so  doing. 

It  is  over  now ;  yet  not  for  all  my  life  is  worth  would 
I  consent  to  live  again  the  last  three  months  of  my  ex 
istence.  Their  suffering  was  extreme — was  exquisite. 

How  little  we  can  foresee  the  result  of  any  undertak 
ing  !  I  have  only  myself  to  blame,  dear  aunt,  that  with 
you  the  experiment  I  made  was  not  perfect — you,  whose 
affection  I  should  have  gained  sooner  or  later  I  am  sure, 
as  I  have  Genie's,  had  not  a  fatal  obstacle  interposed 
between  us. 

What  was  there  to  warn  me  that  in  sending  my  lover 
hither  I  was  exposing  him  to  dangers  greater  than  the 
transit  of  the  ocean  presented — to  temptations  more 
potent  than  Paris  itself  could  offer  ?  How  could  I  fore 
tell  that  in  you,  the  discreet  woman  of  nearly  forty  years 
(for  such  my  fancy  had  pictured  you),  Mazeron  Rivers 
would  behold  a  siren  of  fascination,  whose  mature  yet 
splendid  beauty  should  throw  into  comparative  insignifi 
cance  my  poorer  charms  ? 

I  own  that  the  result  was  disastrous  to  my  plans,  and 
to  my  amour  propre.  The  great  passion  of  his  life  was 
for  you — as  such  delusions  are  called — yet  I  thank  you 
that  you  gave  him  to  me  at  last,  even  with  broken 
wings. 

Yes,  shattered,  disappointed,  and  enfeebled  as  he  is,  I 
receive  him  from  your  hands  gratefully,  as  a  gem  of 
great  price,  treasured  by  a  lapidary  for  its  own  sake, 
which  a  queen  might  throw  to  a  slave  or  dissolve  in 
vinegar !  He  is  all  mine  now,  and  my  love  shall  envelop 
him  like  a  robe  or  mantle  of  eider  down,  in  which  a 
mother  would  wrap  her  child  to  defend  and  protect  him 


288  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

from  sun  and  storm.  He  may  not  love  me  as  I  love 
him,  but  enough  for  my  deserts. 

There  is  always  one  of  two  who  loves  most,  and  it  is 
better  that  the  excess  should  be  oil  the  weaker  side. 
Love  is  a  woman's  life ! 

I  have  related  to  you  a  portion  of  my  early  trials,  but 
perhaps  you  will  consider  those  I  have  still  to  portray  as 
even  more  severe. 

After  the  violent  death  of  the  Count  Delmar  and  the 
rapidly  increasing  blindness  of  my  father,  caused  by  the 
same  catastrophe  that  destroyed  the  life  of  his  nephew 
and  heir — a  stroke  of  lightning  killing  the  one  and 
paralyzing  the  other,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  return  to 
"Les  Hirondelles"  without  delay,  and  endeavor  to 
assuage  the  condition  of  my  now  desolate  parent. 

I  own  I  had  looked  forward  to  a  diiferent  reception 
on  this  voluntary  surrender  to  his  authority  than  that 
with  which  I  met. 

He  greeted  me  coldly,  and  as  if  we  had  just  parted, 
and  at  once  proceeded  to  appoint  my  occupation  and  my 
limits. 

I  was  to  promise  him  never  to  leave  the  confines  of 
the  hedged  grounds  of  the  chateau,  or  failing  so  to 
promise  and  perform,  to  go  forth  forever,  with  his  curse. 

I  was  to  keep  his  accounts — so  ran  his  fiat — to  trans 
act  his  business,  read  to  him  from  such  works  as  lie 
should  select,  attend  to  his  household,  and  in  turn 
receive  my  livelihood  at  his  hands. 

Such  was  the  stern  contract  closed  at  once  between  the 
Count  Cluche  and  his  only  daughter,  a  woman  worthy  of 
better  things  in  her  own  estimation,  yet  willing  to  do  his 
bidding,  if  in  so  doing  she  might  ameliorate  his  condi- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  289 

tion  and   gain  his  confidence  without  other  losses  of 
liberty. 

I  told  you  once  how  deeply  I  had  studied  mania.  I 
was  in  the  hope  of  finding  this  excuse  for  one  I  sought  to 
love  and  reverence,  but  in  vain.  I  could  not  reconcile 
his  clear  perception,  his  power  of  infinite  detail  even  in 
his  purblind  condition,  his  persistent  persecution  of  a 
being  now  wholly  submissive  to  his  will,  with  what  we 
read  of  lunacy,  strive  as  I  might. 

His  house  had  never  been  a  sumptuous  one,  although 
his  revenue  was  immense,  but  now  it  was  maintained  on 
the  most  sordid  principles.  Unable  himself  to  eat  aught 
but  the  most  simple  food  on  account  of  his  failing 
health,  he  confined  me,  with  my  keen  young  appetite, 
my  vigorous  organization,  to  the  diet  of  an  anchorite. 
Under  this  ordeal  my  strength  failed  rapidly,  together 
with  the  vigils  he  compelled  me  to  observe. 

Sleepless  himself,  he  caused  me  to  read  to  him  through 
the  watches  of  the  night  such  books  as  he  desired  to  sift 
or  study  minutely.  Among  these  were  works  on  atheism 
that  made  my  blood  creep  coldly  in  my  veins,  and 
against  which  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  protest,  though 
ever  in  vain.  Volumes  filled  with  the  dry  chaff  of  the 
law  and  its  endless  technicalities  and  tautology ;  or  com- 
pendiums  of  agriculture  and  stable  management,  to  me 
insufferably  dull  and  even  repulsive.  I  considered  this 
"lecture"  my  most  terrific  duty,  and  if  such  a  word 
seems  too  strong,  think  of  what  it  must  be  to  be  roused 
from  healthy  slumber,  to  undertake  a  task  that  wore 
away  the  night  in  dreary  drudgery  and  enforced  vigil  by 
the  side  of  one  who  slumbered  at  the  sound  of  the  voice, 
yet  awoke,  whenever  it  faltered,  to  command  and  curse. 
18 


290  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR, 

The  torture  of  Baron  Trenck  by  Frederick  was 
scarcely  more  inhuman  or  dictated  by  greater  cruelty. 

For  services  like  these  I  received  coarse  food  and  still 
coarser  clothing,  and  permission  to  sell  all  the  fowls  that 
I  could  raise,  all  the  honey  I  could  spare,  all  the  wool 
that  I  could  shear  for  my  own  benefit.  Of  neither  of 
these  privileges  did  I  stoop  to  avail  myself. 

I  was  a  captive  but  not  a  slave.  I  could  do  without 
luxuries  where  gold  was  plenty,  but  I  would  not  aid  his 
sordid  spirit  by  pandering  to  its  narrow  cruelty. 

It  was  my  specialty  to  be  a  lady. 

Aunt,  do  not  misunderstand  me.  Had  we  been  poor  I 
could  cheerfully  have  prepared  our  food  and  sheared  our 
sheep  with  my  own  hands,  nor  dreamed  that  it  derogated 
from  my  dignity.  But  we  were  enormously  rich,  and 
yet  food  and  fires  were  luxuries  so  scantily  dealt  to  me 
that  the  poorest  villagers  might  have  hesitated  whether 
or  not  it  would  be  to  their  advantage  to  change  stations 
with  Marie,  Countess  Cluche. 

But  more  than  all  the  enforced  silence  of  my  friends 
distressed  and  wore  my  spirits.  I  knew  that  all  letters 
were  intercepted.  I  had  ceased  to  struggle  against  the 
cold  and  cruel  hand  that  clutched  my  life-strings,  and 
Madame  Burgenheim  and  Mazeron  Kivers  faded  alike 
into  visions  of  the  past,  never  more,  as  it  seemed  to  me 
then,  to  be  realized. 

The  blind  I  knew  were  usually  long-lived,  and  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  my  father  would  survive  me,  yet 
my  prayers  went  up  to  heaven  unceasingly  for  the  soft 
ening  of  that  stony  heart  before  our  parting. 

His  death  occurred  at  last  under  the  most  painful 
circumstances.  A  stone  chimney  that  he  was  causing  to 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  291 

be  taken  down  at  the  end  of  a  ruinous  building,  contrary 
to  the  advice  of  an  architect,  to  be  erected  elsewhere,  fell 
upon  and  crushed  him  almost  to  a  mass  of  clay. 

Blind  as  he  was,  he  was  endeavoring  to  assist  in  re 
moving  the  stones,  when  it  toppled  and  fell.  He  lived  one 
day  and  night  in  strange  alternations  of  great  agony  and 
perfect  ease,  and  during  his  intervals  of  pain  spoke  to  me 
in  words  that  almost  repaid  my  long  and  weary  sacrifice. 

It  had  been  my  habit  while  I  read  to  him  in  his 
blindness,  I  remember,  to  shed  streams  of  silent  tears, 
which  came  to  be  my  only  luxury — one  of  which  even 
he  could  not  deprive  me. 

With  a  clear,  unbroken  voice  I  would  read  on,  even 
while  my  eyes  rained  water  on  the  pages  beneath  them, 
unobserved  by  him,  as  I  thought,  and  I  felt  this  strange 
style  of  weeping  to  be  a  relief  and  rest  to  my  overtaxed 
brain  and  nerves. 

"  You  will  shed  no  more  silent  tears,  Marie,  when  I 
am  gone,"  he  said  ;  "  all  will  be  yours !  I  used  to  smile 
to  feel  the  pages  of  the  books  when  you  had  left  them, 
moist  and  warm.  Then  I  said  to  myself,  'She  has  a 
brave  spirit,  my  little  Marie ;  she  knows  how  to  govern 
herself  at  last.'  These  are  good  lessons  I  am  teaching 
her,  she  who  never  complains.  She  will  know  how  to 
rule  her  domain  as  well,  and  also  to  obey  her  husband 
when  she  has  one. 

"  There,  child,  marry  whom  thou  wilt,  so  that  he  takes 
my  name  and  treats  thee  well.  Bring  back  Madame 
Burgenheim  to  assist  in  your  counsels.  She  would  not 
Wed  me ;  but  I  loved  her  well,  notwithstanding. 

"  Thy  fate  has  conquered  mine.  Yes,  Marie,  I  yield 
— thou  art  in  the  ascendant  now." 


292  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

It  will  be  seen  even  by  this  extract  that  in  that  last 
dreadful  day,  by  snatches,  much  of  his  life  was  revealed 
to  me,  so  that  I  came  to  love  him  even  in  those  brief 
and  terrible  hours  of  agony  and  separation,  and  to  pray 
for  the  continuance  of  his  broken  life. 

He  died,  and  I  found  myself  suddenly  one  of  the 
richest  heiresses  in  France.  My  first  thought  was  of 
Madame  Burgenheim,  my  next  of  Mazeron  Rivers,  my 
third,  dear  aunt,  of  you. 

I  planned  and  executed  then  the  little  drama  romance 
which,  unfortunately  as  it  has  terminated  in  some  re 
spects,  has,  upon  the  whole,  confirmed  my  happiness. 

I  was  too  sad,  too  solitary  to  seek  that  world  in  which 
I  had  found  before  but  little  to  repay  me ;  too  fixed  in 
the  habit  of  my  life  to  form  new  attachments,  or  meet 
the  requisitions  of  persons  of  my  own  rank. 

I  had  known  one  man  of  crystalline  purity  and  trans 
parency  of  soul — in  that  simple  St.  Germaine  life  of 
mine — and  he  had  seemed  to  love  me.  But  since  then 
long  years  had  intervened.  I  could  not  doubt,  from 
what  I  knew  of  life,  that  the  sheen  of  splendor  would 
draw  him  to  my  side,  should  I  openly  summon  him,  and 
that  he  would  bow  before  the  coffers  of  the  Countess 
Cluche,  in  the  fashion  of  our  land,  whether  or  not  he 
loved  her.  But  we  should  never  be  equals  if  I  did  this, 
and  I  should  never  possess  his  true  affections  under  such 
circumstances.  For  it  is  a  belief  of  mine  that  no  man 
truly  loves  the  woman  whom  he  woos  as  his  superior. 

It  was  in  pursuit  of  truth  and  disinterestedness  that  I 
stooped  to  a  disguise  in  which  I  could  alone  hope  to  test 
these  qualities  in  him  I  loved  and  in  the  relations  I 
sought  to  know  and  cherish. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  293 

I  have  not  been  wholly  disappointed,  and  perhaps 
through  what  I  have  suffered  only  justly  punished  for 
my  departure  from  the  path  of  entire  openness.  My 
greatest  regret  is  in  that  I  have  not  suffered  alone ;  but  it 
is  a  law  of  our  being,  I  believe,  that  this  isolation  of 
pain  can  never  exist.  We  more  or  less  by  every  act  of 
ours  draw  in  some  fellow-creature. 

Poor  Mazeron  has  been  scorched  in  his  path  through 
the  fiery  furnace ;  nor  have  even  you,  dear  aunt,  escaped 
unscathed  ;  and,  for  my  own  part,  my  pilgrim  soles  have 
been  burnt  to  a  crisp. 

But  we  shall  all  recover,  and  be  better  and  wiser  for 
our  cruel  experience,  and  for  this  let  us  be  thankful  and 
devout. 

Farewell,  and  when  you  come  to  France  make  your 
home  at  "Les  Hirondelles,"  with  your  repentant  and 
attached  niece, 

MAKIE,  COUNTESS  CLUCHE. 

An  explanation. 

My  companion  Bedouin  at  your  feast  of  roses  was 
none  other  than  Madame  Burgenheim.  The  picture  I 
sent  you  was  one  of  two  miniatures  of  my  mother,  which 
I  know  for  such  knowledge  you  will  prize  the  more. 

There  is  none  extant  of  my  sister,  who  is  said  to  have 
greatly  resembled  yours ;  so  that  I  referred  you  conscien 
tiously  to  the  portrait  on  ivory  for  a  just  idea  of  her 
appearance,  far  better  than  any  words  of  mine  could 
give.  I  unfortunately  have  none  of  the  "  personnel "  of 
my  mother's  family. 

The  letters  you  received  from  France  were  written  by 
Madame  Burgenheim  at  my  request.  You  will  recog- 


294  A    DOUBLE   W.EDDING;    OR, 

nize  in  this  the  chirography  of  Marie  Minande.     "  Que 
vous  dis  eternellement."     Adieu. 

The  box  to  Dr.  Mandamus,  of  which  mention  has 
been  made,  arrived  at  last,  and  contained — not  a  pah*  of 
slippers,  or  dragees,  or  white  mice — one  or  the  other  of 
which  he  had  securely  promised  himself — the  first  as 
characteristic  of  women  generally,  the  last  of  French 
women  particularly ;  but,  to  his  surprise  and  almost  dis 
may  (for  he  was  not  addicted  to  receiving  handsome 
presents),  he  found  within  a  superb  lepine  watch,  with  a 
heavy  gold  guard  chain  of  finest  workmanship,  and 
diamond  slide,  in  the  fashion  of  that  day. 

A  little  note,  explanatory  of  the  cause  and  appropri 
ateness  of  the  gift,  lay  modestly  ensconced  in  the  bottom 
of  the  box  containing  this  offering  of  gratitude  and 
esteem,  which  we  also  subjoin.  It  was  in  the  writing 
of  Mademoiselle: 

Will  Dr.   Mandamus   accept,   instead   of   the    little 

uncouth  ring  he  coveted  (deeming  it  wholly  valueless), 

as  a  memorial  of  one  apparently  obscure  and  wretched, 

the  accompanying  emblem  of  an  old  and  powerful  race  ? 

MARIE,  COUNTESS  CLUCHE. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  295 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

LES  HIRONDELLES. 

This  castle  hath  a  pleasant  seat — the  air 
Smells  wooiugly  here. — MACBETH. 

She's  made  of  those  rare  elements  that  now  and  then  appear, 
As  if  removed  by  accident  from  some  far-distant  sphere, 
Forever  reaching  up  and  on  to  life's  sublimer  things, 
As  if  she  had  been  used  to  track  the  universe  with  wings. 

N.  P.  WILLIS. 

HALF-WAY  down  to  the  low-sloping  mountain, 
crowned  with  chestnut  trees,  at  the  foot  of  which 
lay  fair  meadows  intersected  by  a  rapid  stream,  tributary 
to  the  Rhone,  was  suspended  the  "  Swallow's  Nest,"  as  it 
had  been  once  called,  probably  from  the  style  of  its  de 
fences,*  simply  now  the  "chateau,"  entitled  "Les  Hiron- 
delles." 

Yet,  in  truth,  some  attributes  of  the  bird  to  which  it 
owed  its  name  originally  seemed  to  have  clung  persist 
ently  to  its  occupants  and  owners,  from  the  time  of  the 
first  Count  Cluche,  the  clockmaker  of  Charlemagne,  who 
founded  the  dynasty,  and  built  the  gray  watch-tower 
(buttressed  and  moated  as  this  once  had  been),  to  the  later 
lords,  who  had  added  in  succession  and  in  accordance  with 
the  tastes  of  the  successive  periods  of  their  possession, 
stately  hall,  pointed  turret,  spacious  gallery  or  encircling 
corridor. 

Like  the  swallow  which  appeared  on  their  crest,  the 
"Cluche"  characteristics  were  those  of  external  plain- 

*  "  Le  nid,"  described  by  Scott  in  Quentin  Durward,  consisted  of  cra 
dles  of  iron  for  the  defence  of  those  who  shot  from  the  walls.  These 
were  called  swallows'  nests. 


296  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

ness  and  want  of  all  those  gifts  that  lend  amenity  to  the 
manner  and  mind  of  man.  Yet  there  was  a  grim  domes 
ticity  of  nature,  so  to  speak,  varied  by  periods  of  myste 
rious  and  sudden  migration  which  seemed  to  be  the  one 
safety-valve  required  by  their  otherwise  monotonous  and 
constant  natures.  We  have  seen  something  of  this  in 
Mademoiselle ! 

It  was  from  their  mother,  a  woman  of  rare  gifts  and 
ardent  sensibility,  that  the  two  sisters,  one  of  whom  we 
have  known  as  Mademoiselle  Minande,  received  the 
moulding  of  their  fine  and  feminine  natures  and  their 
artistic  capabilities. 

Wonderful  are  the  effects  of  this  foreign  grafting  on 
old  and  stagnant  races !  New  qualities  are  thus  intro 
duced  into  effete  families — fresh  faces  and  quick  energies 
that  blend  well  with  the  stern  sameness  of  the  original 
stock — grafts  that  bear  on  old  scions  rich  fulness  of  fruit 
and  blossom,  and  give  fine  impulse  to  a  new  dynasty. 

I  can  but  think  that  noble  results  are  yet  to  ensue  from 
the  mingling  of  our  free  transatlantic  blood  with  that  of 
the  old  families  of  Europe,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  the 
seeds  of  liberty  may  in  this  wise  be  transmitted  from  land 
to  land — from  generation  to  generation,  as  the  bird  now 
scatters  those  of  fruits  and  flowers  in  her  yearly  flight. 

It  was  just  seven  years  after  the  "feast  of  roses,"  in 
the  same  bland  month  of  June,  that  had  witnessed  the 
celebration  of  and  singular  developments  resulting  from 
the  little  festival  at  Birk-braes,  that  again  some  of  its 
principal  performers  found  themselves  assembled  by  in 
vitation  in  the  salon  of  the  ancient  chateau  of  Les  Hiron- 
delles,  the  abode  of  the  Count  and  Countess  Cluche. 

On  the  particular  occasion  of  which  we  speak,  a  balmy 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  297 

evening  in  the  sweetest  of  summer  months,  the  hostess 
occupied  a  fatiteuil  in  the  deep  bay  window  that  looked 
upon  the  broad,  green,  level  lawn,  with  its  choice  and 
well-kept  shrubberies,  its  occasional  parterres  and  terraces, 
its  guardian  statues  and  stately  marble  urns,  and,  above 
all,  with  that  central  feature  which  gave  its  chief  life  to 
the  scene,  the  grand  fountain  of  "Arethusa,"  commemo 
rative  of  the  Greek  legend,  and  in  itself  a  work  of  art 
that  could  scarcely,  in  its  line,  be  excelled,  either  in  France 
or  Italy.  A  group  of  joyous  children,  three  of  whom 
were  her  own,  zealously  guarded  by  their  white-aproned 
and  white-capped  "  bonnes,"  were  playing  by  the  water 
side,  and  for  a  time  the  interest  of  the  mother  was  con 
centrated  on  the  scene  in  which  they  bore  a  part.  As  she 
gazed  two  forms  came  between  her  vision  and  the  foun 
tain  of  Arethusa,  with  its  fairy  surroundings ;  its  swans 
that  sheltered  in  a  little  cove  of  their  own,  were  thus  un 
disturbed  by  the  plashing  of  the  falling  column  of  waters, 
and  came  tamely  to  be  fed  by  the  hands  of  visitors ;  its 
piles  of  tinted  and  twisted  shells,  and  its  marble  nymphs, 
disporting  at  the  edge  of  the  basin,  while  the  central 
figures  (from  which  the  fountain  took  its  name)  seemed 
merging  into  mist  and  stretching  forth  hands  of  entreaty 
and  sad  farewell  to  the  young  companions,  unable  to  avert 
her  doom. 

As  she  saw  the  forms  referred  to  sauntering  across  the 
sward  that  obscured  her  children  for  a  moment  from  her 
fond,  maternal  eyes,  a  smile  of  dimpled  sweetness  broke 
over  the  placid  face  of  the  lady  and  rose  to  her  purple 
eyes,  and  she  waved  her  hand  towards  them  in  token  of 
welcoming  recognition. 

They  were  those  of  her  husband  and  the  Marquis  of 


298  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

Rousillon,  their  nearest  neighbor,  who  had  succeeded  to 
the  heritage  of  his  cousin  and  hers — Raoul  Delmar — and 
who  had  formed  a  close  intimacy  with  him  we  once  knew 
as  "Mazeron  Rivers" — now  the  "Count  Cluche,"  by 
the  grace  of  the  Emperor. 

For  these  were  the  palmy  days  of  the  Second  Empire, 
before  the  cruel  mistake  of  Mexico  had  been  made — so 
soon  to  hurl  a  just  retribution  on  the  head  of  its  perpe 
trator — and  while  still  the  flattered  aristocracy  of  France 
believed  and  delighted  in  the  charlatan  of  their  court, 
and  esteemed  him  great  enough  to  confer  and  even 
create  greatness. 

Nor  had  the  people  then  risen  grimly  to  their  feet  to 
resent  the  drain  of  the  blood  and  treasure  of  the  provinces 
to  promote  the  progress  of  Paris  alone,  the  petted  child 
of  prosperity,  and  to  rend  the  chains  of  their  bondage — 
let  us  hope  forever !  Surely  a  great  consistency  is  visible 
through  the  apparent  inconsistency  of  this  race,  as  the 
fraying  of  the  woof  will  reveal  the  true  texture  of  the 
warp  beneath.  From  the  time  of  Charlemagne  to  that 
of  Louis  the  Sixteenth  they  were  content  to  eat  gray 
lentils  and  black  bread  in  a  land  of  plenty,  and  to  rest 
in  ignorance. 

The  philosophers  and  prophets  of  those  latter  days 
of  Louis  enlightened  them,  and  they  demanded  and 
obtained  their  rights,  so  long  withheld — they  became 
republicans  and  freemen.  Three  times  since  then  have 
they  been  cajoled  through  the  glamour  of  revolution 
into  surrendering  these  hardly-earned  rights,  and  each 
time  have  they  waded  through  a  sea  of  blood  to  rescue 
and  hold  them  again.  They  will  forfeit  all  claim  to 
the  sympathy  of  the  world  if  they  surrender  them  now, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  299 

in  the  face  of  such  effort,  such  experience.     They  are 
republicans  or  nothing  from  this  hour. 

While  we  are  digressing  the  two  gentlemen  are  ascend 
ing  the  marble  steps  that  lead  to  the  bay  window  of  the 
"  salon  "  from  the  lawn  beneath,  and  now  they  stand  in 
their  graceful  and  still  youthful  manhood  on  the  plat 
form  at  the  summit  of  the  ascent  before  the  chair  of 
the  lady — so  lovely  in  her  graceful  matronhood — the. 
Countess  Cluche — the  master  and  his  guest  each  bearing 
unmistakably,  though  severally,  the  stamp  of  rank  and 
distinction. 

Times  were  changed,  since  Mademoiselle  Minande, 
mended  the  torn  blouse  of  her  lover,  and  he  writhed 
under  the  consciousness  of  poverty  and  "  Bohemianism," 
and  the  supercilious  politeness  of  the  guests  at  Birk-braes. 
Confident  of  wealth,  position,  and  above  all  of  the  devoted 
affection  of  his  wife,  at  peace  with  his  own  conscience 
and  leading  an  easy  and  simple  life,  all  that  there  was 
in  him,  of  courtly  grace  and  affable  sweetness,  had  been 
developed  into  something  of  refinement,  rare  even  in  the 
atmosphere  of  courts.  For  with  him  politeness  sprang 
from  the  heart,  not  from  circumstances  and  convention 
alities  alone. 

Something  sterner  and  stronger  characterized  the  man 
ner,  the  physiognomy  of  M.  de  Rousillon.  Younger  by 
several  years  than  Mazeron,  he  looked  even  older,  so 
much  more  deep  and  thoughtful  was  the  expression  of 
his  features,  so  much  more  restrained  and  dignified  were 
his  movements.  He  had  not  the  charm  for  strangers  of 
the  Count  Cluche,  endowed  with  "  the  fatal  gift  of  famil 
iarity  " — as  the  elder  Mirabeau  said  of  his  irresistible  son 
— a  fascination  few  resist,  since  it  extends  alike  to  rich 


300  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;   OR, 

and  poor,  and  appeals  to  the  most  prominent  trait  of 
human  nature,  "  amour  propre." 

But  those  who  knew  M.  de  Rousillon  best  loved  him 
most;  and  this  is  the  highest  encomium  any  man  can 
receive,  when  we  consider  it  in  its  true  bearings.  He 
was  by  birth  noble  on  one  side  only.  His  mother  was 
a  Delmar,  but  his  father  had  been  a  manufacturer  of 
artillery  a  "  mitrailleus,"  ennobled  by  the  Emperor  as 
a  reward  for  his  genius  and  invention,  and  perhaps  in 
compliment  as  well  to  his  enormous  wealth.  When  the 
decayed  estate  of  Raoul  Delmar  fell  to  him,  as  the  last 
of  the  family,  he  received  it  rather  as  an  encumbrance 
perpetuated  by  his  pride  of  race,  than  as  a  source  of 
emolument  or  even  of  enjoyment.  He  had  been  placed 
early  in  the  army,  and  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  Major 
through  his  own  bravery  in  the  Crimea;  but  on  the 
death  of  his  father  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  resign 
his  commission,  in  order  to  devote  all  of  his  energies  to 
the  management  of  a  vast  and  complicated  estate,  which 
devolved  on  him  as  the  eldest  of  a  numerous  family. 

Five  years  of  arduous  toil  had  enabled  him  to  place 
his  mother,  sisters  and  young  brother  in  such  a  condition 
of  safe  prosperity  as  to  permit  his  withdrawal  from  their 
affairs,  and  to  afford  him  temporary  rest  from  labor. 
His  health  had  partially  yielded  under  the  strain  of 
effort  and  responsibility,  and  he  came  to  his  neglected 
property  in  Provence  to  recuperate  his  energies  for  the 
fresh  battle  of  existence. 

Insensibly,  the  tranquil  charm  of  rural  life,  and  its 
daily  requisitions  (none  of  them  wearing  or  wasting,  since 
they  consisted  simply  in  the  improvement  of  grounds  and 
buildings,  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  renters  of 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  301 

the  arable  land,  many  of  them  tenants  of  wretched  hovels, 
when  he  came  suddenly  in  their  midst  like  a  good  genius) 
won  on  his  fancy,  and  renewed  his  health. 

He  made  "Les  Bocages"  his  residence,  and  left  it 
rarely.  Three  months  in  Paris  after  Christmas  and  an 
occasional  visit  to  his  mother  in  Marseilles  comprised 
the  terms  of  his  absence  usually ;  but  in  the  last  year  he 
had  gone  to  the  United  States  of  America  for  a  six 
months'  tour,  partly  with  a  view  of  visiting  the  seat  of 
war  and  judging  for  himself  of  the  justice  of  the  cause 
and  the  comparative  strength  of  the  opposing  parties. 
During  that  comprehensive  tour  he  had  felt  and  thought 
profoundly,  and  at  one  time  had  almost  determined  to 
cast  himself  with  his  fortunes  into  the  vortex  of  affairs 
in  which  he  had  no  real  interest.  More  prudential 
thoughts  prevailed.  Something  even  of  doubt  and  dis 
gust  crept  over  him  towards  the  last  when  he  read 
motives  more  clearly,  and  he  returned  as  he  went,  un 
fettered  by  the  burden  of  partisanship,  yet  with  his 
keenest  sympathies  alive  for  the  people  of  the  South. 
Perhaps  even  then  some  vague  mutterings  of  the  ap 
proaching  storm  that  impended  over  his  own  beloved 
country  had  made  themselves  heard  in  the  depths  of  his 
prophetic  heart ;  and  he  reserved  his  choicest  energies  for 
France. 

Unlike  his  neighbors  —  the  Count  and  Countess 
Cluche — he  was  not  by  any  means  an  uncompromising 
imperialist.  The  Emperor's  course  at  Solferino,  whither 
he  had  followed  his  fortunes,  had  alienated  him  greatly 
from  the  sovereign  of  his  native  land  as  man,  as  soldier ; 
but,  as  monarch,  his  loyal  heart  still  clung  to  him,  even 
if  in  secret  tribulation  for  his  future. 


302  A     DOUBLE    WEDDING;     OR, 

Such  was  the  man — such  his  brief  history,  rather — 
who,  advancing  from  the  marble  balcony  outside  of  the 
long  window  of  the  salon,  now  entered  it  and  stood  con 
fronting  his  hostess,  who  rose  to  meet  him,  extending,  as 
she  did  so,  a  hand  of  welcome — that  hand  accorded  only 
in  France  to  chosen  friends. 

"Mazeron  Rivers,"  as  we  still  love  to  call  him, 
lingered  a  moment  longer  at  the  entreaty  of  his  children, 
who  were  being  unwillingly  borne  away  from  the  foun 
tain  by  their  nurses;  for  the  sun  was  setting  behind  the 
chestnut  groves  of  the  mountains,  and  the  call  of  the 
cowherds  announced  the  presence  of  evening,  and  the 
hour  for  the  simple  supper  of  bread  and  new  milk  that 
awaited  them  in  their  nursery. 

Then  he,  too,  entered  into  the  shadowed  salon,  beyond 
which  the  "salle  a'  manger"  was  being  arrayed  and 
illuminated  for  the  late  dinner  that  crowned  the  social 
day,  and  already  the  folding  doors  were  thrown  open 
and  the  rich  odors  of  fruits  and  flowers  saluted  the  senses 
— "  en  attendant,"  the  feast. 

The  Countess  Cluche  had  arisen  to  greet  M.  de 
Rousillon,  and  her  trained  dress  of  rich  blue  silk, 
trimmed  with  old  and  priceless  lace,  swept  over  the 
Aubuson  carpet,  and  became  her  well,  for  it  added  to 
her  height  and  dignity  and  set  off  the  waxen  pallor  of 
her  complexion.  Thus  standing,  and  thus  dressed  in  her 
matured  yet  still  slender  and  graceful  matronhood  she 
was  certainly  a  far  more  beautiful  woman  than  was 
Mademoiselle  "Marie  Minande,"  weary,  anxious  and 
simply  attired,  at  Birk-braes,  seven  years  before.  And 
yet  something  had  vanished  from  that  face,  that  form, 
that  endeared  them  more  to  the  fastidious  observer  then 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  303 

than  now — a  yearning  tenderness,  an  exquisite  complete 
ness  of  outline  that  maidenhood  alone  can  possess,  first 
youth  attain. 

We  are  cavilling  now.  Had  not  a  perfect  wifehood, 
a  rich  maternity  come  in  their  stead,  a  confidence  in  self 
and  in  life  that  arises  only  from  experience  and  satisfied 
affection  ?  Are  not  these  things  better  than  uncertainty 
and  expectation,  as  far  superior,  in  all  utility  and  pur 
pose  of  being,  as  the  fruit  is  to  the  flower  ?  Yet  there 
are  dreamers,  we  reply,  who,  holding  the  ripe  apple  in 
their  hand,  look  back  to  the  time  of  the  May-blossom 
with  fond  regret,  and  sigh  for  its  delicate  perfume  merged 
in  fruit !  Haply,  it  is  my  misfortune  to  be  one  of  these. 

Perhaps  it  would  have  been  wisest  to  have  left  the 
picture  of  Marie  Minande  just  as  it  stood,  and  trusted  to 
its  suggestiveness  and  the  imagination  of  the  reader  for 
its  completion.  But  would  this  have  been  wholly  just 
to  the  actors  in  this  little  life-drama  who  ventured  much 
in  allying  two  natures  so  opposite,  two  lives  so  strongly 
contrasted?  Some  of  the  worldly  wise  might  have 
prophesied,  with  seeming  justice,  discontent,  coldness, 
and  even  positive  alienation  from  such  an  alliance. 
Others  might  have  supposed  all  affection  to  abide  as  it 
commenced,  on  one  side,  and  the  tyranny  of  a  spoiled 
idol,  on  the  opposite  hand,  to  develop  after  a  time  into 
unbearable  caprice  and  oppression.  It  is  our  duty  to 
portray  the  truth  and  show  how  finely  in  this  instance 
had  been  struck  that  "juste  milieu,"  which  is  the  perfec 
tion,  nay,  the  poetry  of  common  sense. 

But  the  dinner  waits,  and  M.  de  Rousillon  leads  in 
the  lovely  lady  in  deep  mourning,  to  whom  he  has  just 
been  introduced  by  the  Countess  Cluche  as  "  my  cousin, 


304  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

Mrs.  Montrose,  the  daughter  of  my  American  aunt,  Mrs. 
Thermor." 

The  master  has  handed  to  her  seat  Madame  Burgen- 
heim,  a  resident  beneath  his  roof,  to  whom  he  always 
offers  filial  attentions.  The  Countess  Cluche  has  pre 
ceded  every  one,  with  her  dear  old  friend,  then  on  his 
half-yearly  visit  to  Dauphiny,  the  Bishop  Duprez,  later 
the  martyr  of  the  Commune,  and  perhaps  of  all  the  faces 
at  the  board  his  is  the  most  striking.  Lionel  Blamire 
has  convoyed  carefully  the  aged  Marquise  de  Centre- 
feuille,  first  cousin  of  the  ancient  Count  Leon  Cluche, 
and,  like  him,  threatened  with  total  blindness,  and 
already  groping  her  way  on  a  slender  staif  of  ebony, 
surmounted  with  a  silver  introverted  hand,  into  which 
she  places  her  own  attenuated  claw  confidingly ;  a  strange 
old  figure,  wrapped  about,  as  in  weird  sepulchral  cere 
ments  of  black  velvet  and  antique  lace,  with  here  and 
there  a  gleam  of  starlike  diamonds  in  her  capped  and 
palsied  head,  and  on  her  narrow  and  deeply-draped 
bosom.  The  mummy  at  the  feast,  she  might  be  termed. 

This  venerable  hideosity  occupied  the  post  of  honor, 
and  sat  at  the  right  hand  of  her  cousin,  who  bore  with 
perfect  equanimity  her  annual  visitations,  yet  heaved  a 
sigh  of  private  and  profound  relief  when  they  were 
ended.  For  not  only  had  this  ancient  dame  partaken — 
though  from  a  different  cause — of  the  optical  malady  of 
her  cousin,  but  with  it  all  of  the  parsimony,  severity,  and 
sarcasm  that  seemed  to  have  descended  lineally  from  the 
clockmaker  of  Charlemagne  through  a  dozen  generations, 
tempered  in  the  case  of  Marie  Minande  by  the  milky 
nature  of  her  mother  and  the  race  from  which  she 
sprang,  the  love-eyed  and  sweet- voiced  Ruffins !  Blind 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  305 

as  she  was,  this  aged  Centrefeuille  yet  gathered  elements 
of  bitterness  and  satire  wherever  she  turned  her  guiding 
cane — her  "witch's  wand"  as  the  new  "Count  Cluche" 
ventured  to  call  it — and  her  Voltaire  dart  was  ever  on 
the  string. 

We  are  a  long  time  assembling  our  guests  of  the  din 
ner-table  around  the  board,  where  china  and  glass — each 
beautiful  of  its  kind — wine  in  decanters,  placed  art  inter 
vals,  vases  of  fruits  and  flowers,  and  rare  confections, 
make  all  the  visible  array  on  the  rich  damask  cloth,  for 
already  the  "  diner  a  la  Russe "  has  made  its  innovations 
on  the  old-fashioned  provincial  style  of  meats  canned  by 
the  master  and  vegetables  undermined  by  the  assault  of 
levelling  spoons  under  the  direction  of  the  mistress,  until 
after  the  work  of  a  few  minutes  chaos  seemed  renewed 
before  convivial  eyes ! 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanley  come  in  together,  as  is  their  cus 
tom,  for  the  injury  to  the  right  wrist  of  the  husband 
renders  the  aid  of  his  wife  essential  to  his  "  bien-etre," 
whether  at  toilet,  desk,  or  meal.  They  make  no  apolo 
gies,  the  whole  thing  being  understood  by  their  host,  and 
seem  as  entirely  absorbed  with  each  other  as  though  they 
had  newly  met,  and  had  fresh  discoveries  to  make  as  to 
ideas  and  intellect.  Miss  Constance  Lindsay  too  is  there, 
stronger,  and  even  younger-looking  than  when  we  saw 
her  a  fragile,  hopeless  invalid  at  Birk-braes,  for  she  has 
now  the  orphaned  children  of  her  niece,  Clara  Blamire, 
to  love  and  care  for,  and  a  stake  in  life  seems  again 
entered  for  her  by  a  bereavement  which  cost  her  dear, 
and  yet  which  leaves  behind  it  consolations.  It  has 
been  three  years  since  the  sword  wore  through  the  sheath 
in  Clara  Lindsay's  case ;  since  the  petulant,  fitful,  dis- 
19 


306  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

contented  spirit  of  the  spoiled  beauty  penetrated  and 
destroyed  its  waxen  case ;  three  years,  and  Lionel  Bla- 
mire  has  mourned  her  sincerely,  who  was  at  once  his 
torment  and  his  idol.  Now  there  is  a  sudden  reillumi- 
nation  of  faded  hopes  in  his  manly  bosom,  for  since  he 
came  to  "Les  Hirondelles"  with  his  children  and  their 
aunt  for  a  season,  in  compliance  with  the  invitation  of 
the  Count  and  Countess  Cluche,  he  has  renewed  his 
acquaintance  with  his  sweet  young  and  now  widowed 
cousin  Genie,  and  learned  in  his  own  despite  to  love  her 
yet  better  than  he  has  ever  loved  before. 

Is  this  love  returned  or  destined  to  disappointment? 
He  is  yet  to  see.  No  sign  has  yet  been  vouchsafed  him, 
after  the  attentions  of  many  weeks,  that  could  with  any 
justice  encourage  him  to  hope  for  felicity,  and  yet  until 
to-day  his  spirit .  had  never  been  greatly  disturbed  with 
regard  to  the  result  of  his  devotion.  Valuing  himself 
dispassionately,  he  knew  that  he  possessed  as  many  of 
the  elements  of  success  as  most  men  of  his  age  and  rank. 
He  was,  to  begin  with,  better-looking  than  ordinary  men ; 
his  abilities  were  excellent,  if  not  first-rate ;  his  manners 
unmistakably  those  of  a  gentleman ;  and  in  accordance 
with  the  old  French  legend  of  his  race,  "  Faire  valoir, 
vaut  bien  gloire,"*  for  confidence  was  awakened  in  the 
breast  of  all  who  met  him,  even  for  the  first  time.  He 
was  gentle  and  brave,  usually  forbearing  yet  firm,  and, 
withal,  gifted  with  much  of  this  world's  lucre,  for  his 
estates  in  Scotland  were  productive  and  well  managed, 
and  his  expenditures  moderate,  so  that  he  always  had  a 
"  balance  at  his  banker's/'  that  desideratum  to  all  real 

*  To  be  esteemed  is  better  than  to  be  famous. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOF.  307 

independence.  For  the  rest,  he  loved  farming,  reading, 
hunting,  and  fishing,  and  never  found  leisure  a  burden 
or  productive  of  care,  for  his  soul  was  at  rest. 

This  evening,  however,  as  I  have  said,  his  estimate  of 
the  safe  adjustment  of  his  destiny,  which  before  he  had 
confided  trustfully  to  the  hand  of  fate,  had  been  disturbed 
woefully,  and  his  looks  betrayed  him. 

"  Something  has  gone  wrong  with  Lionel,  I  fear,"  said 
Miss  Lindsay,  in  low  tones,  to  Colonel  Kavanaugh  (who 
had  run  down  from  Paris — where  he  and  the  Raven- 
shaws  were  temporarily  residing  to  make  an  ostensible 
visit  to  the  Cluche  family — a  real  one  to  his  darling, 
Genie  Moutrose  and  her  two-year  old  boy,  his  godson). 
It  may  be  remembered  that  Lionel  Blamire  was  a  rela 
tive  of  his,  as  of  Mr.  Thermor's,  and  the  best  relations 
had  ever  existed  between  them. 

"  Wrong  with  Lionel  ?  What  can  it  be  then  ?  He  is 
not  ill,  surely;  has  he  heard  bad  news  from  home?  Has 
the  lake  levee  burst  again,  or  what  ?  "  I  need  not  say 
that  the  response  to  Miss  Lindsay's  observation  was 
made  in  a  voice  as  inaudible  to  those  around  her  as  her 
own  remark  had  been — a  sort  of  grumbling  bass  accom 
paniment  to  the  high-pitched  general  conversational  key. 

"  I  know  him  so  well  that  I  am  quick  to  see  when  he 
is  discomfited ;  I  cannot  be  mistaken,"  she  said. 

"Have  these  people  been  doing  anything  especially 
disagreeable  to  him  ?  There  is  no  relying  on  foreigners, 
you  know,  beyond  the  moment." 

"Oh,  nothing.  They  are  perfectly  well-bred.  Be 
very  careful,  I  beg,  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  how  you  hazard 
such  observations.  She  has  the  ear  of  a  mole,  and  he 
the  eye  of  a  lynx." 


308  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

"Ah,  I  comprehend.  Early  vigilance  necessary ;  habit 
once  acquired  never  abandoned.  You  may  pet  and  pam 
per  a  mouser  forever,  yet  if  there  is  a  scratching  behind 
the  wainscot,  off  she  goes.  -ZEsop  knew  that.  Typical 
only ;  no  offence  intended  anywhere,  of  course.  But  what 
do  you  suppose  ails  Lionel  ?  There  is  a  cloud,  and  he 
keeps  his  eyes  averted." 

"  From  us,  only,  Colonel  Kavanaugh.  See  with  what 
eager,  if  suppressed  scrutiny,  he  regards  his  vis-a-vis, 
listening,  evidently,  to  their  '  entre-tien.'  That  is  not 
very  well-bred,  by-the-by,  in  our  usually  fastidious 
Lionel.  Something"  unusual  in  his  nature,  which  is 
rather  of  the  incurious  Indian  chief  order." 

"  Who  are  they  ?  "  asked  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  advanc 
ing  his  bald  head  so  as  to  look  beyond  the  pretty,  pro 
vincial  French  girl  and  her  Parisian  lover,  who  obscured, 
with  their  full  coiffures,  both  ringletted  and  puffed  to 
perfection,  the  guests  'beyond  them  from  his  end  of  the 
table. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  falling  back  listlessly,  "  none  other 
than  Genie  and  the  Monsieur  Rousse;  we  came  over  with 
him  from  New  York  three  months  ago,  just  before  Mc- 
Clellan's  defeat  in  the  Peninsula.  I  remember,  for  we 
hazarded  a  little  bet  on  that  strategic  movement  of  his, 
in  which  I  had  confidence,  and  the  Frenchman  was 
the  winner.  I  paid  the  cigars  right  gladly  when  we 
arrived  at  Havre,  and  had  a  glimpse  of  the  cable  des 
patches,  but  I  must  say  he  didn't  want  to  take  them. 
You  see,  his  judgment  was  on  the  right  side,  as  was  my 
heart." 

"  Where  the  hand  ought  to  have  been  as  well,"  mur 
mured  Miss  Lindsay,  flushing  slightly  at  her  own  re- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  309 

mark,  for  she  knew  how  sore  Major  Kavanaugh  was  on 
this  subject. 

"Come,  come,  Constance  Lindsay!  no  side  thrusts. 
When  a  man  has  been  in  the  army  forty  years,  all  he  can 
do  is  to  resign  when  the  question  is  whether  to  support 
or  forsake  the  old  flag !  Ravenshaw  thought  so  too,  you 
know,  and  here  we  are  in  consequence  expatriated !  God 
knows,  I  had  rather  be  in  the  thickest  of  the  fray  than 
rusting  out  in  that  shallow,  empty  Paris  city,  were  not 
my  conscience  in  the  way." 

"It  is  a  roaring  lion,  no  doubt,"  she  said  good- 
humoredly,  "but  in  truth,  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  I  was 
not  thinking  of  aught  beyond  my  subject  of  remark. 
What  did  the  Frenchman  want  over  there  at  such  a 
time,  if  not  to  espouse  one  cause  or  the  other?  Such 
impertinent  curiosity ! " 

"  Did  you  never  hear  of  one  Parrhasius?  " 

"  What !  that  dreadful  old  piece  by  N.  P.  Willis  that 
every  schoolboy  used  to  take  a  turn  at  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  but  I  never  could  bear  it,  never ! " 

"  Well,  he  wanted  to  see  muscle  and  nerve  exhibited 
in  the  struggle  of  agony,  so  that  he  might  paint  it,  in  his 
own  way,  by  writing  articles  for  the  Parisian  papers. 
That  is  my  idea,  at  least." 

"  Or  perhaps  he  meant  to  speculate  in  property.  Who 
knows  ?  It  is  very  cheap  just  now ! "  and  she  drew  a 
heartfelt  sigh.  "  My  rents  are  next  to  nothing  in  Balti 
more  ;  they  scarcely  cover  outlay." 

"  It  is  well  you  have  some  British  stocks,  then,  to  fall 
back  on,"  said  her  interlocutor  dryly.  "As  for  us,  we 
are  positively  ruined.  My  tobacco  estate  scarcely  keeps 
the  worms  alive  that  prey  upon  the  leaves,  and  the 


310  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OK, 

negroes  are  a  positive  burden  to  support.  But  there  is 
one  comfort — it  is  a  burden  that  will  not  trouble  us  long, 
and  'the  end  of  it  is  I  shall  be  an  almoner,  in  my  old  age, 
on  the  Ravenshaws  or  Genie  Montrose.  Well,  'suffi 
cient  to  the  day,'  etc.  A  glass  of  pale  sherry  with  you, 
Miss  Constance.  I  abhor  these  sour  foreign  wines." 
And  he  held  his  glass  to  be  filled.  Then,  raising  it 
between  him  and  the  light,  after  a  fashion  he  had,  bowed 
into  empty  space  and  drank. 

In  the  meantime  a  little  by-play  was  going  on  between 
Genie  Montrose,  and  her  newly  introduced  acquaintance, 
in  whom  she  recognized  the  "  Monsieur  Rousse,"  who  had 
been  a  fellow-passenger  three  months  before  with  Colonel 
Kavanaugh  and  herself,  when  she  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
join  her  mother  at  Paris,  whither  she  had  lately  smug 
gled  her  boys  for  fear  they  would  go  into  one  of  the  con 
flicting  armies  and  be  lost  to  her  forever. 

Fortunately  Major  Ravenshaw's  revenue  was  not  de 
pendent  on  the  contingencies  that  governed  property — 
either  North  or  South — but  was  derived  from  inexhausti 
ble  and,  as  long  as  he  remained  neutral,  inalienable  re 
sources  in  the  far  West — mines  of  enormous  value.  He 
had  resigned  his  commission  before  he  addressed  Mrs. 
Thermor,  and,  like  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  could  neither 
bear  to  fight  against  his  old  brethren  in  arms  or  his  native 
State,  for  both  of  these  gentlemen  were  Marylanders. 
They  dulled  their  feelings  as  well  as  they  could  to  the 
deep  inner  voice  of  maternity — crying  on  her  sons  to 
come  to  the  rescue — and  at  last,  in  one  case,  the  mightier 
instinct  prevailed,  even  if  too  late  to  do  more  than  aid  in 
the  death-struggle  of  the  long-forsaken  mother,  van 
quished  by  her  foes. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  311 

As  soon  as  they  were  comfortably  seated  at  the  table, 
Mrs.  Montrose  had  avowed  her  recognition  of  her  "  com- 
pagnon  de  voyage,"  whom  she  had  known  only  until 
now,  by  hearing  him  addressed  on  the  ship,  at  table  and 
on  deck,  as  "  Mister  Rousse." 

Then  he  explained  that  there  was  no  mystery  intended 
by  this  abbreviation,  which  had  been  made  by  the  captain 
in  the  course  of  an  early  introduction  from  sheer  inability 
to  recall  his  three-syllabled  name.  He  had  suffered  the 
mistake  to  pass,  the  name  to  stand,  and  was  glad  to  be 
relieved  of  the  onerous  weight  of  an  unprofitable  title 
by  means  of  the  captain's  error,  especially  as  the  cabin 
was  filled  with  Americans,  who  might  not  otherwise  have 
found  him  so  congenial  as  they  seemed  to  do — divested  of 
his  lofty  name. 

"But  you  know  we  are  accused  of  tuft  hunting  in  our 
country,"  said  Genie,  archly.  "  Your  title  and  name  at 
length  might  have  brought  you  many  worshippers  of  both 
sexes  in  the  ship  'Bousillon.'  It  is  one  of  Shakespeare's 
names,"  she  murmured.  "  You  know  it  occurs  in  *  Measure 
for  Measure,'  and  always  recurs  to  the  mind  with  'the 
lonely  moated  grange/  that  Tennyson  has  embalmed  in 
his  lovely  poem.  You  know  it,  of  course  ? " 

"  I  am  ashamed  to  say  I  do  not !  It  proves  me  com 
pletely  a  Frenchman  that  English  poetry  has  little  charm 
for  me  inside  of  blank  verse.  That,  you  know,  is  only 
prose,  with  a  rise  and  fall  at  certain  intervals.  I  like  the 
Idylls  of  the  King,  l  par  exemple ;'  but  the  minor  poems 
less.  You  know  our  language  does  not  permit  of  blank 
verse  in  its  very  moulding.  Rhymes  we  have  abundantly. 
Do  you  read  Lamartine  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes !  and  with  some  appreciation,  I  believe.     I 


312  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

think  he  is  the  only  French  poet  worthy  of  the  name. 
I  have  translated  one  of  his  poems  into  English  verse," 
with  a  faint  flush  of  the  transparent  cheek,  "and  the 
Countess  Cluche  thinks  well  of  my  effort.  I  did  it  as  a 
sort  of  exercise." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  your  translation,"  he  said,  gently. 
"You  are  in  some  sort  a  poet,  then?  Of  course  you 
write  verses  in  your  own  language  as  well?" 

"Sometimes;  but  they  are  of  little  worth.  Yet  I 
found  it  a  resource,  in  times  of  loneliness  and  dejection, 
to  exercise  my  little  faculty.  I  have  used  my  pen  only 
as  a  means  of  consolation  and  outlet — a  sort  of  safety- 
valve  for  feeling." 

"Ah!  but  this  is  an  exquisite  revelation!  I  might 
have  known  from  the  expression  of  your  face  that  poetry 
had  its  temple  in  your  soul.  I  marked  this  possibility 
before  I  knew  you." 

"  I  am  sorry  I  have  been  so  impulsive  as  to  lay  bare 
my  little  gift  to  which  I  attach  no  more  importance  than 
to  any  minor  accomplishment  I  possess.  I  do  not  con 
sider  myself  a  poet  at  all,  only  poetical.  They  are  very 
different,  you  know." 

"  Different,"  he  answered,  vaguely,  "  yet  the  same ! 
Different  as  brooks  and  lakes  are  different,  the  one  being 
the  source,  the  other  the  reservoir  for  its  clear  waters  to 
accumulate  and  abide  in,  yet  both  are  of  the  self-same 
element,  only  subjective  and  objective  severally." 

"  I  do  not  think  I  understand  you  clearly." 

"  Nor  do  I  understand  myself  sufficiently  well  to  ex 
plain  my  meaning.  I  think,  however,  yours  must  be 
the  mountain  brook  nature  rather  than  that  of  the  tarn. 
I  do  not  care  much  for  still  waters." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  313 

"  Yet  the  water  lilies  love  best  the  tranquil  pool.  I 
believe  I  love  them  best  of  all  flowers/'  she  added  im 
pulsively.  "There  is  such  repose  about  them.  They 
seem  so  slumberous.  The  winds  have  so  little  power  to 
break  their  ranks,  their  rest.  If  I  could  believe  in  Dar 
winism,  this  new  theory  so  abhorrent  to  my  soul,  I  should 
think  I  had  been  a  water  lily  once  myself.  They  touch 
and  move  me  so." 

"You  remind  me  more  of  a  tea  rose,  a  Madame 
Bosanquet,  par  exemple,  waving  to  every  breeze,  and 
blowing  sweet  odors  all  around  and  about  you.  Of 
course  you  cannot  help  your  universality,"  and  he  smiled 
his  strange,  sad,  sweet,  and  half  derisive  smile,  while 
her  cheek  flushed  faintly,  and  her  clear  eyes  were  lowered 
beneath  his  gaze.  "  She  never  looked  that  way  in  con 
versation  with  me  in  her  life,"  thought  Lionel  Blamire, 
passionately,  "and  this  man  is  no  stranger  to  her,  I 
know,  from  some  passing  words  that  caught  my  ear  in 
advertently.  Can  it  be  possible  that  her  love  for  this 
foreigner  has  been  at  the  root  of  her  indifference  to 
me?" 

"Bien  ouir  c'est  bien  dire,"  whispered  the  old  pur 
blind  lady,  provokingly,  at  his  side.  "Vous  econtez 
bien,  Monsieur  !  Vous  ne  m'avez  pas  dit  un  mot  depuis 
que  nous  y'  sommes !  Qu'avez  vous  done  au  jour  d'nui, 
Monsieur  Leon  ?  " 

"  Je  me  trouve,  un  pen  souffrant,  Madame,  c'est  tout," 
he  replied,  carelessly.  "  La  bise,  m'a  fait  mal — hier  au 
soir" — he  added,  gayly,  with  a  sudden  effort,  pouring 
into  her  glass  the  ruby  Burgundy  from  the  decanter 
before  them,  and  placing  it  carefully  within  her  grasp. 
"Votre  sante,  Madame,  and  success  to  the  Soutneru 


314  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

arms,"  and  as  he  spoke  he  bowed  across  the  table  to 
Genie. 

"Thank  you,  cousin  Lionel,"  she  answered  quickly, 
and  graciously  raising  her  glass  as  she  spoke  to  her  lips, 
filled  with  Sauterne.  "  You,  too,  M.  de  liousillon,  will 
pledge  our  brave  Southerners,  will  you  not  ? "  she 
added,  pausing  with  her  untasted  draught  still  poised  in 
her  slight  fingers,  while  he  filled  his  goblet  with  the 
same  light  wine,  and  prepared  to  quaff  it  to  the  honor 
and  glory  of  distant  Maryland. 

"Now  we  will  drink,"  said  Genie,  solemnly,  after 
repeating  the  pledge,  as  did  each  of  the  remaining  vis 
itors  in  turn. 

"But,  after  all,"  she  murmured,  "would  it  not  be 
better  to  wait  a  while,  and  pour  the  libation  on  our  liber 
ated  soil  ?  for  of  course  there  can  be  but  one  result  in 
accordance  with  the  eternal  justice  of  God." 

"  Which  we  have  no  right  to  question,"  said  Lionel 
Blamire,  reverently. 

"  Which  we  have  no  power  to  penetrate,"  added  de 
Rousillon. 

"  Why  even  the  nations  will  be  brought  to  a  sense  of 
their  duty,  when  they  see  the  strong  overpowering  the 
weak,"  urged  Genie,  eagerly. 

"  Not  while  slavery  remains  a  Southern  institution," 
said  Lionel  Blamire,  seriously.  "  England  dares  not  go 
behind  her  own  traditions." 

"But  France,  noble  France,  is  with  us,  and  will  lend 
us  a  hand  again,  as  she  did  our  fathers,  to  throw  off  tyr 
anny!"  exclaimed  Genie,  passionately.  "The  emperor 
is  our  friend." 

"  He  is  not  even  his  own."  said  de  Rousillon,  mourn- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  315 

fully.  "  He  can,  he  will  do  nothing  for  a  sinking  cause. 
The  South  must  yield  to  the  power  of  circumstances. 
She  is  as  a  serpent  surrounded  with  flames.  The  end  is 
certain." 

"And  yet  you  bet  against  McClellan  with  Colonel 
Kavanaugh,"  Genie  remonstrated.  "  Have  you  changed 
your  mind,  Marquis  de  Rousillon  ?  " 

There  was  such  a  lofty  ^ervor  in  her  manner  that  it 
half  amused  him.  "  No,"  he  said,  "  no ;  the  South  will 
achieve  many  a  victory,  fight  many  a  good  fight  yet ;  but 
you  know  the  old  fable  of  the  fox  surrounded  with  flies 
in  a  marsh.  It  applies  to  your  struggling  country. 
Drive  off  one  army,  another  will  appear.  When  the 
Southern  men  are  decimated  they  cannot  be  renewed, 
and  the  age  of  demi-gods  seems  to  be  over.  Heroes, 
even,  are  no  longer  immortal,  and  defeat  is  only  the 
matter  of  time;  yet  it  is  a  glorious  strife,  and  all  the 
more  so  for  the  hopelessness  that  surrounds  it." 

His  words  struck  sad  conviction  to  Genie's  heart. 
She  turned  pale  and  trembled. 

"  What  a  Mimosa  you  are,"  he  whispered. 

"And  what  an  ill  prophet  are  you,"  she  rejoined,  with 
something  like  a  gleam  of  displeasure  on  her  soft 
features. 

"  No  one  has  a  right  to  prophesy  such  pain  to  an 
other,"  said  Lionel  Blamire,  fiercely.  "  It  is  not  cour 
teous  ;  it  is  not  even  gentlemanly" 

The  last  word  hung  suspended  for  a  moment  on  the 
lip  of  the  speaker,  but  was  brought  forth  clear  and 
vibrant  after  the  interchange  of  one  speaking  glance 
between  his  adversary  and  himself,  for  such  Lionel 
Blamire  had  from  the  beginning  of  the  dinner  chosen  to 
consider  De  Housillon. 


316  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

"  That  is  a  mere  matter  of  opinion/'  said  the  French 
man,  bowing  low ;  "  but  every  true  man  is  found  ready 
to  sustain  his  opinions  in  this  land,  either  by  force  of 
reason  or  of — arms." 

"I  prefer  the  latter  alternative  sometimes,"  said 
Blamire,  haughtily. 

"  It  is  not  always  a  matter  of  choice,"  responded  De 
Rousillon.  "Au  revoir,  Monsieur,"  and  he  smiled  and 
drank  his  wine,  without  an  indication  of  deeper  displeas 
ure  than  his  careless  words  revealed. 

Lionel  Blamire,  on  the  contrary,  was  evidently  ruffled 
and  angry  ;  a  red  spot  rose  to  either  cheek,  and  his  blue 
eyes  flashed ;  his  lips  were  closely  compressed,  and  when 
he  spoke  again  to  the  old  French  lady  his  voice  was 
husky  and  low. 

Of  this  Genie  saw  nothing,  absorbed  as  she  was  in  her 
companion,  who  was  reminding  her  of  a  moment  of  peril 
to  her  boy  on  shipboard,  which  he  had  witnessed,  and 
with  some  others  averted. 

"  It  was  more  difficult,"  he  said,  "  to  secure  the  ape 
properly  than  if  he  had  been  an  armed  man ;  he  was  so 
lithe,  so  vigorous ;  yet  had  Tie  succeeded  in  his  endeav 
ors,  your  boy  must  have  been  borne  to  the  mast-head 
in  five  minutes  more,  and  perhaps  cast  on  the  waves. 
What  was  amusing  and  piteous  at  the  same  time,  the 
child,  who  had  made  friends  with  Jocko  through  the 
bars  of  his  cage,  hitherto,  seemed  perfectly  willing  to  be 
carried  away.  He  was  not  at  all  afraid.  '  Mais  c'est  un 
petit  heros ! " 

"There  are  many  breeds  of  monkeys,"  said  Lionel 
Blamire,  again  accosting  Genie  across  the  table:  "and 
those  that  are  domesticated  are  frequently  the  most 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  317 

dangerous ;  even  if  apparently  harmless.  It  is  a  perfid 
ious  animal,  ever,"  and  he  laughed. 

"  I  believe  you  are  right,"  replied  Genie,  with  sim 
plicity. 

De  Rousillon  was  silent,  but  he  frowned. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

This  son  and  heir  then  of  the  "Cannoneer," 
Of  spirit  French  and  aritical  and  cold, 
With  answerable  gush,  his  mother's  gift — 
Such  mixture  makes  i  battle  in  the  brain. 
******* 
The  tactics  of  the  two  are  different. 

BROWNING— 'Tower  and  Turf." 

The  idea  of  her  life  shall  sweetly  creep 

Into  the  eye  and  prospect  of  his  soul, 

Into  his  study  of  imagination. — SHAKESPEARE. 

Countess  Cluche,  on  either  hand  of  whom  the 
-L  guests  were  placed,  whose  metaphorical  "  pass-at- 
arrns"  we  have  recorded,  comprehended  the  situation  per 
fectly  when  she  gave  the  signal  to  rise  from  table  and 
adjourn  to  the  now  brilliantly-lighted  "salon."  It  is  not, 
we  know,  the  custom  in  France  for  gentlemen  to  linger 
over  their  wine  after  the  ladies  have  withdrawn,  as  in 
England,  or  the  consequences  of  the  strange  state  of 
mind  into  which  Blamire  had  worked  himself  might 
have  been  instantaneous  and  even  disastrous. 

As  it  was,  circumstances  postponed  any  development 
of  the  embryo  quarrel  for  several  days — nay,  weeks — 
during  which  Blamire  lay  ill  at  "  Les  Hirondelles  "  with 
sudden  fever,  developed  into  violent  illness  on  the  morning 


318  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

after  the  conversation  we  have  related.  It  was  natural  to 
suppose  that,  with  convalescence,  reason  and  the  sense  of 
the  insult  he  had  offered  would  return  with  a  wish  to 
extenuate  it;  and  in  this  thought  his  hosts  took  comfort. 

As  for  Genie,  though  strangely  agitated  at  what  had 
passed — at  the  moment  of  its  occurrence — she  shaped  to 
herself  no  more  result  than  that  of  temporary  aliena 
tion  between  two  friends,  whom  she  respected  and 
admired  severally,  and  as  she  then  believed,  equally. 

As  to  loving  either  of  these  agreeable  men,  no  thought 
of  this  nature  had  once  intruded  itself,  even  casually,  on 
her  innocent  mind — not  even  alive  to  possibilities  of 
this  sort,  for  so  far  her  widowhood  had  engrossed  her. 

Rousillon  could  scarcely  take  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  so  as  to  comprehend  the  grievance  of  the 
Scotchman,  even  though  he  had  read  his  passion  at  a 
glance.  Surely,  so  far  it  had  met  with  no  opposition 
through  his  means,  and  even  if  after  a  time  this  fair  and 
enchanting  woman  were  to  become  an  object  of  contro 
versy  between  those  two,  would  it  not  be  for  her  alone 
to  decide  the  question?  What  need  of  anger  or  irritation 
on  such  a  subject?  Why  should  personality  enter  into 
the  honorable  effort  to  obtain  so  rich  a  meed?  or  the 
conqueror  become  an  object  of  spite  and  envy  to  the 
vanquished  ?  A  noble  emulation  might  surely  exist  in 
the  nineteenth  century  between  two  candidates  for  a 
lady's  hand  !  It  was  only  that  barbarism  that  was  akin 
to  the  animal,  that  made  human  beings  abhorrent  to  one 
another  when  the  love  and  possession  of  a  woman  was 
the  stake  between  them.  As  well  fight  about  the  direc 
tion  of  the  ever-shifting  wind  as  imperil  life  and  honor 
for  a  truant  female  fancy. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  319 

Thus  thought,  thus  reasoned,  our  young  philosopher — 
the  master  now  of  his  own  passions,  of  himself;  with  a 
spirit  toned  down  by  effort  and  reflection,  and  a  mind 
shaped  by  science  far  more  than  art.  Alas !  how  often 
does  this  outward  crust  of  polished  cement,  apparently 
as  hard  as  stone  itself,  yield  suddenly  to  the  volcanic 
pressure  from  within  !  There  was  nothing  of  this  kind 
overlaying  the  simpler  and  more  direct  nature  of  Blamire. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  feelings,  but  they  lay  near  the 
surface,  and  his  culture  was  of  a  kind  that  interfered  not 
with  their  manifestation. 

We  can  scarcely  conceive  of  an  excitable  astronomer 
or  meteorologist;  but  a  farmer  or  physician,  alive  to 
common  surroundings,  or  even  a  sculptor  and  painter, 
manipulating  the  material  of  their  work,  would  not  be 
placed  in  a  sphere  beyond  human  infirmities.  Blamire 
entered  very  ardently  into  everything  about  him,  from 
his  dog-kennels  and  stables  up  to  his  mansion  and 
family,  and  lived  the  true  mortal  life,  not  devoid  of  irri 
tability,  familiar  to  most  good  and  happy  men. 

Rousillon  had  been  so  far  the  slave  of  duty  and  cir 
cumstances  alone,  not  affection.  He  had  stood,  in  his 
intervals  of  leisure,  and  looked  at  life  with  folded  arms 
and  cool,  calm  scrutiny — holding  himself  apart  from  men 
and  their  passions.  He  had  loved  deeply,  when  very 
young,  a  woman  older  than  himself,  who  deceived  him, 
as  she  had  done  her  own  husband  before,  and  who  had 
left  a  scar  on  his  soul,  as  he  sometimes  thought  (so  bitter 
was  this  experience),  that  no  after  affection  could  ever 
efface.  It  was  rather  a  smear  on  her  own  sex  that  re 
mained — her  fatal  legacy — to  the  heart  she  had  toyed 
with  and  almost  destroyed,  as  recklessly  as  a  cat  sports 


320  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

with  the  doomed  traditional  mouse — this  woman,  whom, 
meeting  after  an  interval  of  years,  Rousillon  gazed  upon 
with  horror  as  at  her  surroundings,  and  with  wonder  at 
his  own  early  infatuation. 

She  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  history  and  her  name 
would  be  irrelevant  here,  but  it  was  perhaps  the  very 
contrast  afforded  to  her  in  every  respect  that  drew  the 
young  Frenchman  so  irresistibly  from  the  very  first  hour 
of  their  acquaintance,  nay,  even  before  its  commence 
ment,  into  the  charmed  atmosphere  of  "bonny  Genie 
Montrose."  This  was  an  appellation  that  her  Scottish 
kinsman  had  bestowed  on  her  when  his  near  friend  and 
neighbor,  the  young  Laird  of  Rookhurst,  had  first  borne 
home  his  fair  American  bride  to  his  ancestral  halls  in 
the  lowlands  of  Scotland. 

An  accident  in  hunting  had  cut  off  the  life  of  the  fond, 
yet  never  very  congenial,  husband,  and  for  a  time  Genie 
was  inconsolable;  but  youth  and  health  sustained  her 
well  in  the  task  of  recuperation,  and  she  was  happy  again 
in  the  possession  of  her  infant  son,  her  friends,  and  her 
own  loveliness  both  of  character  and  person — nay,  in 
the  very  isolation  of  her  position.  Her  estate  supplied 
her  simple  wants ;  but  most  of  her  husband's  property 
was  entailed  on  and  even  sequestered  by  his  guardian 
for  their  son  Malcolm  until  the  time  of  his  majority.  In 
the  meantime  Genie  had  a  right  to  reside  at  Rookhurst, 
with  its  young  heir,  but  the  place  was  singularly  dis 
tasteful  to  her  after  her  husband's  death,  and  she  had 
returned  to  Birk-braes,  preferring,  so  far,  to  dwell  prin 
cipally  with  her  mother  and  step-father  and  their  two 
young  and  lovely  children,  in  her  widowed  condition, 
but  reserving  always  the  right  of  liberty  with  which  her 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  321 

bereavement  had  endowed  her,  as  the  sole  compensation 
for  her  cruel  loss.  She  went,  she  came,  free  as  the 
breezes  she  seemed  to  bear  about  her,  to  and  from  her 
old  home  on  the  Chesapeake,  and  the  mild  tyranny  that 
Major  Ravenshaw  exercised  habitually  over  all  who  sur 
rounded  him  failed  utterly  in  her  case  to  find  its  usual 
submissive  slave,  for  even  the  wilful  Mrs.  Thermor  had 
succumbed  to  it  entirely,  and  no  longer  disputed  con 
jugal  authority. 

When  Genie  had  made  known  her  resolution  to  accept 
the  invitation  of  the  "  Countess  Cluche  "  for  a  summer's 
sojourn,  and  give  to  "  Provence "  the  preference  over 
Switzerland  (whither  the  Ravenshaws  intended  to  go  for 
the  hot  months),  nothing  could  surpass  the  annoyance 
her  mother  manifested. 

"That  woman,  who  has  not  even  asked  me  to  her 
castle  save  in  a  general  way ! — for  you  to  clasp  hands 
so  openly  with  my  covert  enemy !  What  does  it  look 
like,  Genie?" 

"  Your  covert  enemy,  mamma  ?  I  cannot  see  for  my 
life  what  you  refer  to.  I  know  you  objected  to  the  way 
in  which  she  disguised  herself  (like  Caliph  Haroun  Al- 
raschid,  you  know),  in  order  to  find  her  level  and  win 
your  aifections  on  her  merits  solely,  and  I  know  you 
disapproved  of  her  '  mesalliance/  as  you  considered  it, 
with  the  young  artist — now  a  Count  of  the  empire, 
mamma,  by  the  Emperor's  fiat — but  what  were  these 
but  romantic  foibles  to  say  the  most?  and  surely  that 
letter  you  showed  me  explained  and  extenuated  every 
thing — that  letter  which  you  never  noticed,  mamma; 
and  yet  when  the  war  broke  out  she  thought  of  you  at 
once  and  begged  that  you  would  take  refuge  with  her, 
20 


322  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

should  it  be  necessary  to  leave  your  country,  and  in  any 
case  use  her  castle  as  your  head-quarters  whenever  you 
visited  France !  I  think  that  was  a  great  concession  on 
her  part." 

"  It  amounted  to  nothing,  absolutely,  Genie,  and  you 
know  it.  In  your  case  she  has  fixed  the  day  and  the 
hour,  and  the  term  of  your  sojourn  even,  extending  only 
a  deprecating  wave  of  the  hand  to  me :  l  Tell  your  mam 
ma  and  Major  Ravenshaw  I  shall  be  happy  to  receive 
them  also  as  my  guests  at  their  own  time.' 

"  I  think  I  can  see  her  as  she  wrote  those  words,  with 
that  "  sourire  fin  "  on  her  lips  that  Clara  Lindsay  used 
to  rave  about.  Women  always  liked  her  better  than 
men  did,  I  remarked.  She  was  fortunate  so  far ;  I  was 
a  victim  to  the  opposite  state  of  things." 

And  the  happily  married  widow  heaved  a  profound 
sigh,  at  which  Genie  laughed  archly,  turning  away  from 
the  interview  with  an  unshaken  purpose. 

"  I  must  see  her,"  she  thought ;  "  it  is  the  one  thing 
that  may  restore  my  peace  of  mind.  She  was  always  to 
my  spirits  like  oil  poured  upon  troubled  waters.  Cir 
cumstances  have  so  far  withheld  me  from  her  presence. 
Now  I  will  go ! " 

And  thus  did  Genie  Montrose  rush  unconsciously  upon 
her  fate. 

I  have  said  that  Lionel  Blamire  was  attacked  with  ill 
ness  suddenly  and  alarmingly  on  the  day  after  his  dinner 
experience  with  Genie  and  Rousillon,  and  that  his  condi 
tion  for  a  while  lulled  the  apprehensions  and  absorbed  the 
attention  of  his  hosts,  and  even  of  the  guests  at  Les  Hi- 
rondelles  less  interested  in  his  welfare.  Miss  Lindsay 
and  Genie  Montrose  were  indefatigable,  of  course,  in  their 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  323 

efforts  to  ameliorate  his  sufferings,  but  lie  allowed  no  one 
to  nurse  him  except  his  own  servant,  an  old  and  faithful 
retainer  of  his  father's  house,  aided  by  Rosolio,  the  stew 
ard  of  the  Count  and  Countess  Cluche,  with  whom  the 
reader  is  already  acquainted. 

Occasionally  flowers  and  fruits  would  be  brought  to 
him  by  those  who  would  fain  have  ministered  to  his 
sterner  needs,  had  he  permitted  then^  to  do  so;  but  he 
manifested  such  unmistakable  impatience  during  these 
brief  visits  that  his  physician  was  at  last  constrained  to 
forbid  the  entrance  intu  his  darkened  chamber  of  all  save 
his  venerable  attendants,  unwearying  as  these  proved 
to  be. 

Days  passed — weeks-  -before  he  was  declared  conva 
lescent,  and  even  then  he  could  receive  only  his  sister  at 
intervals,  setting  up  the  ]jlea  op  nervousness — for  his  se 
clusion,  so  unusual  in  patients  u  on  the  mend,"  as  good 
Dr.  Mandamus  termed  this  progressive  condition,  from 
the  brink  of  the  grave  up  again  to  life  and  strength. 

In  the  meantime  M.  de  Rousillon  had  called  daily  to 
inquire  concerning  the  sick  man ;  nor  this  alone.  Genie 
Montrose  found  herself  at  last  awaiting  the  expected 
summons  to  the  "salon"  with  a  beating  heart,  which  day 
by  day  was  borne  to  her  with  the  card  of  the  near  neigh 
bor  of  her  host's,  and  which  she  obeyed  as  unresistingly 
as  the  toy  swan  follows  the  magnet  around  the  basin  in 
which  he  floats. 

She  had  glided  into  this  groove  of  habit — feeling — call 
it  what  you  will — so  unconsciously  that  it  was  some  time 
before  she  realized  that  she  was  no  longer  mistress  of  her 
inclinations  or  even  actions.  One  day  she  determined, 
when  first  suspicious  of  the  real  state  of  affairs,  to  refuse 


324  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

to  receive  M.  de  Rousillon,  and  sent  by  the  servant  who 
bore  his  card  a  civil  message  of  apology. 

In  the  next  moment  she  found  herself  rushing  blindly 
from  the  apartment  to  forestall  her  herald,  which  she  did 
to  the  amazement  of  the  ceremonious  servitor,  who,  en 
tering  to  deliver  the  message  he  had  been  shaping  in  his 
brain  on  his  way  to  the  drawing-room  so  as  to  make  it 
as  grandiloquent  as  possible,  saw  the  lady  from  whom  the 
excuse  had  been  transmitted  quietly  seated  in  a  fauteuil, 
near  the  sofa  occupied  by  the  object  of  the  message. 

With  a  tact  that  might  have  done  credit  to  a  diplo 
matist,  he  stepped  quietly  across  the  room,  with  eyes  fixed 
on  vacancy,  and  adjusted  the  drapery  of  a  curtain,  just  a 
little  out  of  order,  then  disappeared  ghostily  through  the 
open  window  it  covered,  smiling  as  he  emerged  there 
from  in  the  consciousness  of  having  complete  possession 
of  a  lady's  secret ! 

"Why  did  I  come?"  thought  Genie,  suddenly  recalled 
by  the  appearance  of  the  footman  to  a  sense  of  her  own 
inconsistency.  "  What  brought  me  here  ?  Oh !  God,  am 
I  this  man's  slave  ?  Is  he  a  master  magician,  and  I  only 
his  attendant  Ariel?  Have  I  at  last  encountered  my 
Prospero  ?  "  And  for  a  time  she  sat  dazed  and  silent  in 
the  presence  of  him  who  was  her  fate ! 

Still  no  declaration  of  love  had  left  his  lips,  and  deeply 
as  he  fascinated  her,  the  flattery  of  his  kianner  was  all 
that  so  far  indicated  what  might  or  might  not  lurk  be 
neath  that  calm  and  self-poised  exterior  of  power  and 
intellect  and  critical  discernment. 

Yet  day  by  day  he  grew  into  her  feelings,  her  inner 
life,  until  at  last  he  permeated  every  thought,  every  mo 
tive,  with  that  subtle  sweetness,  which  is  said  even  now 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  325 

to  exude  from  the  walls  of  the  Mosque  of  Saladin,  the 
very  mortar  of  which  was  mixed,  according  to  tradition, 
with  atter  of  roses,  the  only  undying  odor. 

She  loved  him  with  all  the  strength,  impassioned  pu 
rity,  and  devotion  of  her  true,  deep  nature,  never  before 
stirred  to  a  consciousness  of  its  own  powers,  even  by  the 
mighty  yearnings  of  maternity.  Widowed  as  she  was, 
this  was  her  first  passion.  Not  his,  as  the  reader  knows ; 
for  the  wild  passion  of  his  early  manhood  had  reduced, 
as  he  believed,  his  heart  to  cinders,  from  which  no  fires 
could  ever  be  lighted  more.  Unholy  fires  like  those  in 
deed,  were,  let  us  trust,  extinct  in  his  soul  forever ;  but 
now  for  the  first  time,  he  too  loved,  as  men  and  angels 
equally  might  love,  deeply,  purely,  and  disinterestedly. 

At  this  crisis  matters  remained,  when,  suddenly,  one 
day,  and  unexpectedly,  while  De  Rousillon  was  a  guest  at 
"  Les  Hirondelles,"  Lionel  Blamire,  pale,  stern,  and  con 
valescent,  stalked  into  dinner ! 

The  guests  rose  simultaneously  at  his  approach,  and 
left  their  untasted  soup  to  cool,  while  they  gathered  about 
him  with  congratulations  and  courteous  salutations,  such 
as  belong  peculiarly  to  well-bred  society,  for,  of  course, 
much  more  is  said  than  felt  on  such  occasions,  where  a 
few  words  would  suffice,  and  be  less  overwhelming. 

But  even  these  manifestations  failed  to  unlock  the  set 
features  of  Blamire,  or  to  produce  a  smile  on  his  sad  and 
faded  face ;  for  was  not  the  Mordecai  of  his  happiness 
seated  at  the  gate,  and  could  his  heart  rejoice,  even 
though  the  shadow  of  death  had  been  so  mercifully  lifted 
away  under  these  exasperating  circumstances  ? 

He  had  not  counted  on  the  company  of  De  Rousillon ; 
had  heard  nothing  of  his  marked  attentions  to  Genie, 


326  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

though  receiving  each  day  his  complimentary  card  of 
inquiry  as  to  his  own  condition  (a  courtesy  which  he 
resented  as  an  impertinence),  and  the  shock  of  his  pres 
ence  was  more  than  he  could  well  bear.  Fortunately  he 
was  spared  the  ordeal  of  an  exchange  of  courtesies  with 
his  self-elected  foeman  on  this  occasion,  for  De  Rousillou 
contented  himself  with  rising  where  he  stood,  napkin 
in  hand,  and  bowing  ceremoniously  to  the  otherwise 
warmly-welcomed  convalescent. 

"  I  wish  they  had  let  me  sneak  back  to  my  place 
without  a  word ;  I  hate  all  this  foreign  kotooing  on  all 
occasions,"  thought  the  sturdy  Scotchman,  as  he  sat  down 
at  last,  and  bent  low  over  his  plate  of  vermicelli,  to  con 
ceal  his  agitation. 

Old  Madame  de  Centrefeuille  had  departed  during  his 
illness,  to  visit  a  relative  who  lived  in  the  Pyrenees,  but 
not  without  leaving  many  messages  of  regard  for  "  le  cher 
Lionel,"  and  to-day  he  found  himself  established  next 
to  Genie  Montrose  as  he  could  have  wished  to  be,  but 
for  the  fatal  vis-a-vis  of  De  Rousillon,  between  whom 
and  himself  no  single  word  was  exchanged  during  a 
meal,  that  seemed  to  him  the  longest  he  had  ever  par 
taken  of  in  his  whole  life. 

There  was  nothing  obvious  to  Blamire  of  the  state  of 
things  pending  between  Genie  and  De  Rousillon,  as  he 
sat  surveying  both  by  turns,  though  with  less  than  his 
usual  openness  of  glance.  "  Suppose  it  proves  to  be  a 
chimera  of  my  own  brain  after  all,"  he  thought ;  "  why 
then  I  shall  be  so  happy  that  I  shall  do  what  but  for 
one  thing  I  would  lose  no  time  in  doing — apologize  to 
the  Frenchman  for  the  rudeness  of  my  behavior,  of 
which  it  seems  several  persons  were  made  sensible  (for  I 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  327 

had  this  from  the  Countess  Cluche  herself,  in  one  of 
those  recent  notes  of  hers,  accompanying  fruit  and 
flowers  and  such  like  flummery).  But  if  my  suspicions 
prove  correct,  hang  me  if  I  apologize  at  all,  and  he  may 
send  in  his  l  au  revoir '  as  soon  as  he  pleases,  and  then  it 
will  be  the  old  story  over  again — '  Come  on,  Macduff/  " 

While  all  these  conflicting  thoughts  were  passing 
through  his  brain,  Genie  Montrose  was  ministering  in 
every  possible  way  to  the  capricious  tastes  of  a  con 
valescent.  Now  it  was  a  flower,  selected  from  a  vase. 
Now  a  choice  bunch  of  cherries,  or  rare-ripe  strawberries, 
tendered  with  delicate  fingers  and  bewitching  smiles; 
now  a  glass  filled  with  Fontenac  wine,  so  suitable  for 
an  invalid,  or  brimmed  with  invigorating  Burgundy,  of 
which  she  insisted  he  should  partake  freely,  so  as  to  get 
back  his  strength,  adding  to  each  draught  a  little  impro 
vised  toast  of  "  good  wishes  "  for  his  return  to  health 
and  strength  and  happiness.  "  For  ( to  be  weak  is  to  be 
miserable,'  you  know,  cousin  Lionel,"  she  whispered, 
"  as  Milton  has  said." 

"And  sometimes  to  be  strong  equally  so,"  he  rejoined, 
with  something  like  a  low  groan  that  stirred  her  with 
apprehensions  of  a  sudden  seizure  of  some  sort,  so  that 
she  commenced  fanning  him  with  all  her  might. 

"  You  remind  me  in  some  way,  Genie,  when  you  fan  so 
vigorously,  of  that  Chinese  widow  Goldsmith  tells  of — in 
his  'Citizen  of  the  World,'  I  believe — who  fanned  her  hus 
band's  grave  night  and  day  that  it  might  dry  the  sooner, 
so  that  she  might  marry  again  !  It  seems  that  this  dry 
ing  process  was  a  necessity  with  that  people  before  a  sec 
ond  union  could  be  contemplated,  also  a  pious  rite,  so  she 
united  fidelity  and  expediency,  as  you  are  doing,  Genie." 


328  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

"What  a  strange  speech,  cousin  Lionel,  and  how 
irrelevant ! "  she  said,  flushing  slightly.  "  I  shall  have 
to  send  for  Dr.  LaRue  again  if  you  talk  so  wildly." 

"  No  need,  my  child.  But  stop  fanning  me ;  it  does 
but  make  me  gasp  and  swallow  the  wrong  way.  I  know 
you  are  glad  I  am  better ;  I  believe  in  you.  Yes,  I  will 
drink  your  pledge" — and  he  bowed  as  he  repeated  it — 
"  To  a  better  understanding." 

"  You  see,  Genie,  '  I  go  it  blind,'  as  you  Yankees 
say,  for  I  can't  see  any  particular  point  in  this  toast 
of  yours." 

"Nor  does  M.  de  Rousillon,  yet  he  joins  us  in  the 
pledge,"  she  said,  joyously.  "  It  will  be  explained  to 
both  at  a  fitting  season." 

"By  the  sorceress  who  compounds  the  beverage?" 
asked  Blamire,  "  and  whose  cup  we  drain  without  ques 
tion  or  dissent?" 

"  By  the  angel  who  came  to  Ishmael,"  murmured 
De  Rousillon,  gazing  at  Genie,  who  only  caught  the 
meaning  of  his  words. 

"  By  a  sweet  little  mortal  peacemaker  only,"  inter 
posed  the  Countess  Cluche,  turning  in  the  next  moment 
to  speak  to  the  guest  at  her  right  hand,  for  the  invalid, 
for  whom  an  additional  seat  at  the  board  had  to  be 
placed,  was  on  her  left,  in  the  curve  of  the  end  of  the 
table. 

."Now  it  will  all  go  well,"  she  thought,  "and  this 
painful  meeting  that  has  been  hanging  over  my  head  like 
a  sword  for  the  past  six  weeks  is  an  augury  of  good ! 
They  will  be  reconciled,  or,  if  not,  the  matter  will  pass 
into  oblivion." 

Yet  how  far  she  was  mistaken  is  shown  by  the  fact 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  329 

that,  on  the  next  morning,  the  Marquis  of  St.  Maure 
called  formally  on  Mr.  Blamire  for  an  explanation  and 
retraction  of  certain  unpleasant  remarks  and  references 
not  perhaps  perfectly  comprehended  by  his  principal,  that 
gentleman  having  postponed  his  demand  for  satisfaction 
to  this  time  on  account  of  the  severe  illness  of  Mr. 
Blamire. 

To  this  demand  Blamire  replied  only  by  saying,  that 
whatever  he  had  remarked  he  was  willing  to  abide  by, 
and  that  circumstances  had  fully  confirmed,  since  the 
occasion  in  question,  the  opinion  he  then  only  partially 
entertained  and  expressed  of  M.  de  Rousillon. 

"  There  is  then  no  reason,"  said  M.  St.  Maure,  "  why 
I  should  not  present  to  you  the  challenge  with  which  I 
am  intrusted,  to  be  delivered  or  withheld,  conditionally 
and  according  to  my  estimate  of  the  state  of  the  case.  I 
consider  myself  compelled  by  your  persistency  to  assume 
a  belligerent  attitude,  which,  believe  me,  Monsieur  Bla 
mire,  I  regret,  not  only  on  your  account,  but  that  of  M. 
de  Rousillon,  essentially  a  man  of  peace." 

So  saying,  with  a  suave  bow,  he  placed  in  the  angry, 
clutching  fingers  of  Lionel  Blamire  the  elegantly  envel 
oped  and  sealed  missive,  bearing  the  arms  of  the  Delmar 
family,  and  directed  in  a  firm  but  unmistakably  foreign 
hand.  It  ran  briefly  thus : 

"LIONEL  BLAMIRE,  ESQ.: 

"  SIB  : — I  challenge  you  to  meet  me  at  your  earliest 
convenience,  with  whatever  arms  you  may  select,  that 
satisfaction  may  be  afforded  me  for  your  unmerited  re 
marks  at  the  table  of  the  Count  and  Countess  Cluche  on 
the  10th  day  of  June.  Your  illness,  from  which  I  am 


330  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

happy  to  learn  that  you  have  recovered,  has  so  far  pro  • 
tected  you  from  my  just  indignation. 
"  With  respect  and  consideration,  yours, 

"DE  KOUSILLON." 

M.  St.  Maure  could  scarcely  account  for  the  rage  that 
seemed  to  take  possession  of  Blamire  as  he  scribbled  off 
his  eager  acceptance  of  this  war-like  invitation. 

"  He  is  still  nervous  from  recent  illness,"  he  thought, 
"  irritable,  as  invalids  ever  are ;  but  what  in  the  world 
induced  the  man  to  behave  as  he  did  in  the  first  instance, 
and  prevents  his  conducting  himself  now  like  a  man  of 
breeding  and  self-command?  I  never  saw  hatred  so 
clearly  manifested  in  any  face,  and  yet, '  ma  fois,'  it  seems 
to  me  impossible  that  one  could  hate  a  man  so  noble,  so 
courteous  as  De  Rousillon  from  mere  personal  antag 
onism.  I  confess  I  am  mystified." 

"  Here  is  my  answer,"  said  Blamire,  rising  abruptly 
and  thrusting  the  missive  into  the  calm,  extended  fingers 
of  St.  Maure.  "We  will  fight  with  rifles,  at  thirty 
paces." 

"Mais,  Monsieur,  that  is  murderous;  it  cannot  be 
thought  of;  it  is  against  the  code." 

"I  am  a  stranger  here,"  responded  Blamire,  "and  I 
bring  my  own  code  with  me.  I  am  the  challenged  party 
and  have  a  right  to  choose." 

"That  is  indisputable,  Monsieur,"  said  St.  Maure, 
rising  and  buttoning  his  coat  tightly,  with  an  expression 
of  disgust  on  his  pale,  aristocratic  features  that  was  per 
fectly  unmistakable.  "  But  none  the  less  is  this  a  very 
savage  proceeding." 

And  without  further  parley  and  with  a  slight  touch 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  331 

of  his  hat,  which  he  put  on  firmly,  he  left  the  room, 
turning  back,  however,  at  the  threshold  to  beg  that  the 
second  of  M.  Blamire  would  call  on  him  as  soon  as 
possible  at  "  Les  Bocages." 

"  I  suppose  Mazeron  Rivers  will  serve  me  on  this 
occasion,"  said  Blamire,  carelessly.  "  If  not,  there  is 
Colonel  Kavauaugh.  I  will  send  some  one — or — a — 
come  alone — it  matters  little  which.  There  are,  you 
observe,  no  preliminaries." 

"  I  observe,"  reiterated  St.  Maure,  dryly,  and  he 
strode  sternly  from  the  chamber  in  which  his  blood  had 
been  stirred,  by  a  man  in  a  dressing-gown,  as  it  had 
never  been  before. 

"  I  could  have  sprung  at  his  throat,"  he  said  in  re 
lating  this  interview  afterward  to  a  disinterested  party, 
"  and  but  for  the  sacred  ness  of  my  errand  I  know  I 
should  have  been  betrayed  into  some  outrageous  expres 
sion  of  feeling.  I  never  saw  such  dogged  cruelty,  such 
personal  animosity,  as  that  Scotchman  exhibited." 

There  had  occurred  an  episode  between  the  dinner 
of  the  day  before  and  the  visit  of  M.  St.  Maure  that 
accounted  for  much  of  the  reckless  bitterness  of  Blamire. 


332  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OB, 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Come  into  the  garden,  Maude. — TENNYSON. 

Whereof  the  war  came  which  he  knew  must  be. 

BKOWNING — "Sandie's  Society." 


The  evil  spirit  of  a  bitter  love 
po 
JULWER— "Lady  of  Lyons" 


And  a  revengeful  heart  had  power  upon  thee. 
Bu 


^  /"^OME  out  to  the  fountain  with  me,  Genie,"  said 

^-^  Lionel  Blamire,  appearing  suddenly  before  the 
object  of  his  address  on  the  balcony  that  projected  from 
the  library  window.  "Arethusa  is  beautiful  by  moon 
light,  and  as  I  grow  stronger  I  want  to  feel  the  grass 
under  my  feet  again.  There  is  no  sensation  so  life- 
giving." 

"  Would  it  not  be  imprudent  for  you  to  venture  out 
at  night  in  your  present  feeble  condition,  cousin  Lionel  ? 
Think  of  the  dew.  I  have  a  Shakespearian  faith  in  the 
blistering  power  of  night-dew." 

"  Yet  you  know  what  he  says,  Genie,  of  mercy,  and 
how  'It  droppeth  like  the  gentle  dew  from  heaven.' 
By-the-by,  I  shall  soon  have  to  prove  the  truth  of  that 
assertion.  But  don't  come  with  me  if  you  prefer  being 
near  the  Frenchman." 

"He  left  us  an  hour  ago,"  said  Genie,  taking  his 
proffered  arm  coldly.  "Be  just  and  accurate  at  least 
when  you  attribute  motives  to  uncomprehended  be 
havior." 

"  You  will  ask  me  next  to  be  generous  as  well,  Genie ; 
scarce  more  difficult  in  some  cases  than  to  be  just,"  and 
a  suppressed  groan,  rather  than  sigh,  left  his  pallid  lips, 
wrung  from  the  torture  of  his  struggling  heart. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  333 

"  I  have  always  been  taught  to  esteem  you  generous, 
cousin  Lionel — ay  !  almost  to  a  fault." 

"  Oh  !  that  was  with  money  and  the  like ;  but  when  it 
comes  to  our  heart's  treasures — bah  !  " 

"  It  would  be  hard  to  surrender  these,  of  course." 

"  It  would  be  icrong"  he  said,  stopping  suddenly  and 
looking  into  her  face ;  "  that  is,  if  one  could  choose ;  but 
fate  is  sometimes  pitiless." 

"  You  must  not  feel  in  that  way.  We  cannot  see  into 
the  wisdom  of  God's  inscrutable  decrees,  but  we  must 
bear  whatever  burden  or  bereavement  he  lays  upon  us — 
ay !  and  with  magnanimity,  too,  if  we  love  Him" 

"  I  am  not  speaking  of  such  losses,"  he  said,  impa 
tiently.  "Life  contains  greater  disappointments  than 
death  brings  sometimes.  I  have  never  been  so  nearly 
desperate  from  any  cause  as  the  fear  of  losing  you  lately. 
Now  you  know  all,  Genie  ! " 

"  Cousin  Lionel !  "  and  her  hand  dropped  from  his 
supporting  arm,  "  I  am  so  sorry,  so  sorry.  Oh !  why 
did  I  never  think  of  this  before  ?  "  and  tears,  distinctly 
visible  in  the  moonlight,  settled  over  her  pale  and  quiv 
ering  cheeks. 

"  Genie,  this  night,"  he  said,  grasping  her  arm  almost 
fiercely  with  his  attenuated  fingers,  "  you  must  give  me 
an  answer  to  a  question  I  have  hesitated,  yet  wished  to 
ask  you  for  many  weeks.  I  love  you  as  I  never  thought 
I  could  love — as  surely  I  have  never  loved  before.  Can 
you  return,  even  imperfectly,  this  affection  ?  I  ask  no 
more.  Will  you  belong  to  me,  Genie,  by  the  holy  name 
of  wife?" 

Frightened  by  the  passionate  intenseness  of  his  man 
ner,  his  voice,  his  expression,  she  hesitated  a  moment 


334  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

before  replying,  and  vainly  strove  to  relax  his  nervous 
grasp  upon  her  wrist;  then  yielding  passively  to  his 
tyrannic  will,  she  stood  silently  before  him  with  down 
cast  head  and  heaving  bosom,  while  low  sobs  escaped  her 
lips  of  mingled  pity  and  indignation. 

He  mistook  these  signs,  or  converted  them  through 
the  glamor  of  his  passion  into  indications  of  reciprocated 
emotion,  and  suddenly  dropping  her  hand,  he  fell  before 
her  on  one  knee  and  threw  his  arms  wildly  about  her. 

Bursting  from  his  embrace,  she  gained  the  opposite 
side  of  the  fountain  before  he  could  pursue  her,  and,  in 
an  agitated  voice,  commanded  him  to  refrain  from  fol 
lowing  her  on  her  pathway  to  the  house. 

11 1  will  send  Malcolm  to  you  instead,  or  Rosolio,  cousin 
Lionel,"  she  said  ;  "  for  there  has  been  some  strange  mis 
takes  here,  and  you  need  them,  or  else  you  presume  too 
far." 

"  Is  there,  then,  no  hope  for  me,  Genie  ?  "  he  cried, 
extending  his  arms  toward  her  retreating  form,  and  the 
clear,  vibrant  sound  of  her  last  words  reached  his  ear  as 
he  stood  rooted  to  the  spot. 

"  I  can  never  be  more  to  you  than  I  am  now,  Lionel 
Slamire.  Farewell ;  forget  this  folly." 

This  little  scene  it  was  that  determined  the  course  pur 
sued  by  the  Scotchman  on  the  following  day  with  regard 
to  the  challenge  of  De  Rousillon. 

"  One  of  us  slicdl  be  killed,"  he  thought,  "  and  both 
may.  "Will  Genie  hate  or  love  the  survivor?" 

Before  this  violent  passion  possessed  him,  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  all  other  interests,  Lionel  Blamire  had  been  an 
easy-tempered,  forbearing,  unsuspicious  man,  without  any 
animosities,  or  strong  friendships  even,  beyond  his  own 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  335 

family,  every  member  of  which  he  had  been  devoted  to 
in  the  several  relations  of  son,  brother,  friend,  husband, 
father,  master.  Captain  Stanley  had  waited  to  see  him 
out  of  danger  before  proceeding  to  the  post  in  Gibraltar, 
to  which  he  was  assigned  as  commandant,  and  had  known 
nothing  of  the  quarrel  pending  between  Blamire  and  De 
R/ousillon.  The  husband  and  wife  had  gone  before  the 
denouement,  and  Blamire  did  not  wish  them  recalled; 
but  he  spent  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  re 
ceived  and  accepted  the  Frenchman's  challenge  in  writing 
to  both,  and  recommended  to  their  care  his  children — 
should  they  become  orphans — of  whom,  jointly  with  Miss 
Lindsay,  he  constituted  them  guardians. 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  had  already  been  enlisted  as  his 
unwilling  second — (for  soldier  as  he  was  and  man  of  honor, 
his  kinsman  thought  Blamire  wholly  in  the  wrong,  and 
on  this  occasion  frankly  told  him  so) — and  now  all  that  re 
mained  to  do  in  life  seemed  done,  save  to  bid  farewell  to 
those  dearest  to  him. 

To  Genie  he  wrote,  reproachfully,  piteously  even,  a 
few  passionate  lines,  blistered  with  his  tears,  to  be  given 
to  her  by  Miss  Lindsay,  to  whom  they  were  enclosed,  in 
case  he  should  fall ;  his  children  he  kissed  in  their  sleep, 
without  a  sigh  or  a  regret,  so  strangely  was  he  rendered 
self-absorbed  and  morbid  through  the  power  of  his  hope 
less  attachment. 

There  was  something  of  the  Hamlet  nature  in  Blamire 
despite  his  apparent  common-place ! 

Not  so,  De  Rousillon.  Even  the  savage  evidence 
afforded  by  the  choice  of  weapons,  and  the  distance  assigned 
by  his  opponent,  failed  to  move  him  to  animosity  against 
him.  He  had  forborne  to  declare  himself  to  Genie  Mon- 


336  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

trose  until  after  this  matter  should  be  decided,  but  he 
would  have  been  blind  indeed  not  to  have  seen  that  the 
scales  were  weighted  down  in  his  direction,  and  this 
knowledge,  and  the  insight  he  had  obtained,  through  his 
love  for  her,  into  his  own  nature,  made  him  compassion 
ate  his  adversary. 

Yet  his  sense  of  what  was  due  to  himself — to  society 
even,  according  to  his  views — had  made  him  resent  the 
insults  he  had  received  in  the  only  way  pointed  out  by 
that  code  of  honor  that  a  Frenchman  never  dares  to  set 
aside,  even  though  the  law  of  the  land  be  opposed  to  it. 

He  had  earnestly  hoped  that  Blamire  might  apologize 
for  what  seemed  such  wanton  insult,  occasioned  perhaps 
by  the  fever  in  his  veins  (oven  then  on  the  eve  of  pros 
trating  him  for  weeks),  when  that  fever  should  have  spent 
its  force  and  brought  him  back,  nay,  down,  to  a  mood  for 
consideration. 

We  have  seen  that  in  this  estimate  of  affairs  he  had 
been  disappointed.  Life  was  more  precious  to  him  now 
than  it  had  ever  been  before,  with  so  fair  a  prospect  of 
happiness  beyond,  such  a  new  infusion  of  delight  into  its 
every-day  surroundings,  and  he  shrank  from  the  proba 
bility  of  death  as  he  had  never  dreamed  his  fearless  soul 
could  do. 

St.  Maure  saw  with  astonishment  the  expression  of  his 
face  as  he  read  Blamire's  acceptance  of  his  challenge,  and 
heard  with  amazement  the  words  that  broke  irresistibly 
from  his  lips. 

"I  had  confided  in  his  retraction  of  his  insinuations 
and  epithets  on  " — he  paused,  and  leaned  his  head  upon 
his  hand. 

"  Oh,  you  would  not  have  sent  the  challenge  ?  "  said 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  337 

St.  Man  re,  sternly.  "Is  that  what  you  would  say,  De 
Rousillon?" 

"  Xo !  no !  not  that ;  I  was  compelled  to  demand  an 
apology  of  course ;  and  this  being  refused,  the  challenge 
was  inevitable.  I  was  thinking  of  something  else ;  some 
thing  I  have  left  undone  too  long  to  repair  it  now.  I 
have  been  governed  by  false  estimates  ! " 

"  We  all  are,  sometimes,"  said  St.  Manre,  sententiously ; 
but  his  significant  manner  escaped  the  sad  and  self-ab 
sorbed  man,  who  still  sat,  veiling  his  brow  and  eyes  with 
his  hand,  unconscious  or  careless  of  his  friend's  observa 
tion. 

"  You  go  out  to  fight  to-morrow  at  daylight,  De  Rou- 
sillon  ;  that  is,  if  the  obsolete  weapons  can  be  procured  the 
man,  the  savage  rather,  selects ;  if  not,  we  shall  substi 
tute  pistols,  of  course — Colonel  Kavanaugh  and  I,  his 
friend,  who  really  thinks  him  crazy,  I  believe.  Then  he 
can  do  as  he  pleases,  you  know,  'mon  ami'  (and  he  laid 
his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  De  Rousillon,  thus  rousing 
him  from  reverie);  "do  as  he  pleases — either  fight  or 
delay  the  matter  until  those  strange  weapons  can  be  ob 
tained." 

"  Yes,  delay  the  matter,"  said  De  Rousillon,  absently ; 
"I  am  sure  he  must  come  to  his  senses,  for  I  had  in  no 
manner  offended  him ;  that  is,  with  any  intention  of 
offence." 

"  What  was  it  all  about,  then?  Ma  fois,  I  have  never 
meddled  with  any  duel  so  mysterious  ! " 

"  I  can  only  surmise  the  cause,"  said  Rousillon,  gravely, 

"  and  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  reveal  my  suspicions — nay, 

almost  certainty — but  the  whole  affair  was  unworthy  of 

civilized  men  !     Curses  on  a  code  of  conventionalities," 

21 


338  DOUBLE    WEDDING;    on, 

he  added,  impetuously,  "  that  discriminates  not  between 
the  jeopardy  of  honor  and  the  mere  gratification  of  petty 
spleen.  Why  should  I  suffer  this  man  to  kill  me,  in 
order  to  wreak  his  miserable  spite  on  one  who  never 
intentionally  injured  him?  Why  should  I  kill  him, 
against  whom  I  cherish  not  one  spark  of  animosity  ?  It 
is  all  wrong,  believe  me,  St.  Maure !  But  there  is  no 
other  means  left  of  sustaining  one's  social  rights,  such  as 
the  law  takes  no  note  of!  Yet  I  hope  there  may  be  a 
delay.  I  do  earnestly  hope  for  an  adjustment  of  this 
affair." 

"Had  I  not  seen  you  before,  De  Rousillon,  placed 
under  similar  circumstances,  comporting  yourself  with 
unusual  firmness  and  unquestioned  courage,  I  might  find 
it  in  my  mind  to  marvel  at  the  nervous  unwillingness 
you  manifest  to  meet  this  emergency.  As  it  is,  I  confess 
I  cannot  comprehend  your  conduct." 

"  Under  similar  circumstances — no,  St.  Maure !  The 
early  rencontre  with  Claireville  was  in  defence  of  the 
reputation  of  the  woman  I  then  thought  I  loved,  and 
surely  no  man  worthy  of  the  name  would  flinch  in  such 
a  cause.  He  escaped  with  his  life ;  but  had  I  killed  in 
stead  of  wounding  him  severely,  I  should  never  have 
reoretted  the  act.  This  is  a  different  case !  The  man 

o 

I  am  to  meet  is  already,  spiritually  speaking,  sorely 
wounded  and  disappointed,  it  may  be  through  me,  and 
I  feel  to-night  that  I  could  take  him  in  my  arms  and 
weep  over  him  rather  than  raise  my  hand  against  his  life, 
so  deeply  do  I  sympathize  with  his  suffering." 

"  There  is  a  woman  in  the  case  then,  De  Rousillon ; 
and  yet  I  cannot  conjecture." 

"  Do  not  suffer  yourself  to  hazard  one  conjecture  on 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  339 

the  subject,  St.  Maure ;  you  will  soon  know  all,  whether 
I  live  or  die.  But,  oh !  my  friend,  I  confess  to  you 
there  is  now  a  glory  in  my  life  it  never  knew  before ! " 

"Yes,  yes,  I  perceive;  the  old  story.  You  have 
taken  away  his  'bien-aimee/  and  he  pursues  you  with 
his  vengeance!  Can  it  be  the  American  lady — that 
pretty,  fair  young  widow  with  her  great  clear  eyes  ?  But 
no.  You  who  have  seen  Parisian  society,  and  been  one 
of  its  lions,  could  never  stake  your  happiness  in  a  retir 
ing,  perhaps  even  inane  person  like  that !  Who,  then  ? 
Surely  !  surely  !  not  the  Countess  Cluche,  herself?" 

"You  make  me  smile,  St.  Maure,  in  spite  of  my 
surroundings!  As 'well  conjecture  Diana  of  Ephesus! 
Both  of  the  women  you  have  mentioned  are  beyond 
reproach,  and  singularly  unapproachable." 

St.  Maure  turned  languidly  away,  only  half  satisfied. 
"I  will  go  now,"  he  said,  "and  arrange  prelimina 
ries  with  the  old  American  Colonel,  since  it  seems 
there  are  still  some  matters  to  be  settled,  and  return 
at  midnight.  In  the  meantime  you  prefer,  of  course, 
to  be  alone." 

"Absolutely,"  was  the  sole  reply,  and  without  another 
word  St.  Maure  withdrew,  encountering  on  the  stairway 
a  mutual  friend,  evidently  en  route  to  the  chamber  of 
De  Rousillon. 

"He  will  be  refused  at  the  door-sill,  that  is  all," 
thought  St.  Maure,  as  he  continued  his  way  down-stairs; 
"  but  it  is  not  for  me  to  tell  him  this,  to  play  the  part  of 
porter."  Pausing  a  moment  on  the  last  platform,  and 
glancing  up,  he  saw  to  his  amazement,  that  the  summons 
of  the  Count  Cluche  had  been  answered  by  the  opening 
of  the  door  apparently  sealed  against  intrusion,  and  that 


340  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

he  had  entered  the  room  of  his  friend  and  host,  for  St. 
Maure  was  sojourning  for  a  season  at  "  Les  Bocages " 
with  the  companion  of  his  college  days,  and  thus  recruit 
ing  health  and  energies. 

*  "Nothing  could  more  have  astonished  me  than  to 
have  been  requested  to-day  to  act  as  second  in  a  duel  in 
which  you  represent  the  challenging  party,"  said  Maze- 
ron  Rivers,  as  he  seated  himself  in  a  deep  chair  in  front 
of  that  occupied  by  De  Rousillon.  "The  man  who 
made  this  request  of  me  is  my  guest,  and  yet  I  refused 
him  decidedly  from  the  first ;  for  however  much  I  may 
respect  Blamire,  you,  De  Rousillon,  have  hold  of  my 
heart-strings,  and  I  could  not  stand  in  such  an  attitude 
towards  you,  even  for  the  sake  of  hospitality  or  the 
stranger  within  my  gate." 

"Your  wife — does  she  know  of  this?"  asked  De 
Rousillon,  abruptly,  in  his  vibrant  emotional  voice, 
without  responding  to  the  remarks  of  Rivers. 

"Yes;  we  communicate  thoroughly,  one  to  the  other, 
on  all  subjects,  and  for  some  time  she  has  feared  that  a 
shadow  of  this  sort  might  fall  over  our  circle,  and  yet 
hoped  and  trusted  in  the  forbearance  and  common  sense 
of  both  parties,  almost  to  the  result  of  confidence,  in  a 
final  reconciliation.  She  told  me  long  ago  of  the  re 
marks  at  the  dinner-table,  but  believed  in  spite  of  these 
that  the  illness  of  Lionel  Blamire,  even  then  pending, 
might  extenuate  them  in  your  eyes,  and  prevent  your 
noticing  them  finally,  even  if  it  did  not  efface  them  from 
his  memory.  "Was  it  indeed  worth  while  to  recall  them 
at  all  after  such  a  lapse  of  time  ?  Sucli  suffering  on  his 
part!  De  Rousillon,  was  not  your  conduct  Quixotic, 
and  is  it  too  late  to  withdraw  your  challenge,  sent,  no 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  341 

doubt,  from  a  mere  allegiance  to  forms  more  ancient 
than  wise  ?  " 

"On  certain  conditions  I  should  be  most  happy  to 
recall  it,"  said  De  Rousillon,  calmly ;  "  but  you  have 
seen  for  yourself,  dear  Mazeron,  how  entirely  stubborn 
Blamire  is  on  this  occasion,  and  with  what  ferocity  he 
responded  to  my  note.  A  man  owes  it  to  himself  to 
protect  his  good  name  against  aspersion — his  honor 
against  insults.  This  is  all  I  have  done.  Could  I  have 
acted  differently  and  held  up  my  head  again  among  my 
peers  ?  " 

"  Having  held  it  up  so  long,  I  think  you  could,"  said 
Mazeron,  with  his  old  affectionate  smile  that  won  so 
irresistibly  upon  the  hearts  of  men,  now  that  women  were 
out  of  the  question.  "  The  poor  fellow  is  half  mad  with 
jealousy,  my  wife  thinks.  Perhaps  you  never  suspected 
that  before,  De  Rousillon  ?  I  am  sure  I  did  not.  It 
seems  he  has  been  refused  by  Genie  Montrose — he  has 
raved  about  it  to  Miss  Lindsay,  and  believed  you  to  be 
the  cause  of  his  rejection.  Now,  if  you  have  no  serious 
idea  in  that  direction — and  I  am  almost  sure  you  have 
none — why  not  let  me  tell  him  so,  and  relieve  his  tor 
tured  imagination  at  once?  I  am  convinced  that  all 
good  results  would  follow  such  a  declaration  on  your 
part." 

"  If  I  could  make  it  with  truth,  Mazeron ;  but  I  can 
not,  for  I,  too,  idolize  this  woman  !  " 

His  head  fell  on  his  breast.  The  hand  laid  on  the 
table  was  clenched,  as  in  a  spasm.  It  had  cost  him  dear 
to  make  this  avowal  to  any  but  the  object  of  his  passion. 

"  Can  this  be  possible  ?  "  said  the  Count  Cluche,  after 
a  pause.  "  Where,  then,  have  my  faculties  been  wan- 


342  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

dering  ?  I  never  saw  it  at  all — never  suspected  such  a 
thing!" 

"And  Madame !  was  she,  too,  blind  to  the  truth  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell.  Perhaps  she  feared  to  break  the  spell 
by  a  conjecture.  It  would  make  her  so  blissfully  happy, 
you  know,  to  have  her  little  Genie  for  a  life-long  neigh 
bor.  Of  course,"  hesitating  slightly,  "  she  was  not  your 
confidante?" 

"  No,  no ;  I  never  make  confidences  of  that  sort  except 
in  extremity.  It  seems  due  to  you,  in  the  character  of 
host  to  Mrs.  Montrose,  that  I  should  avow  the  truth, 
now  that  you  press  me  so  closely." 

"  You  are  then  engaged  to  Genie  ?  " 

"  No,  Mazeron ;  no.  That  I  love  her  devotedly  she 
must  know,  and  that  a  declaration  will  follow  this  affec 
tion  she  must  believe,  knowing,  esteeming  me  as  she 
does.  But  I  have  waited  for  the  settlement  of  this  affair 
— with  what  anxiety  I  would  hesitate  to  own  to  any  but 
a  brave  man — in  order  to  decide  my  right  to  make  our 
love  more  binding.  Should  I  fall,  I  want  to  leave  her 
free,  even  from  the  light  fetters  of  betrothal — free  to 
choose  again  without  reproach  or  hindrance." 

"  This  was  fair — this  was  noble,  even,"  said  the  Count 
Cluche,  whose  sensitive  face  had  changed  in  sympathy 
with  every  utterance  of  his  friend.  "  But  having  won 
her  affections,  do  you  suppose  it  would  be  any  less  hard 
for  her  to  bear  your  loss  than  if  betrothed  ?  Would  it 
not  have  been  better  to  have  deferred  your  courtship 
altogether  until  after  Blamire's  recovery?  Had  you 
forborne  to  approach  Genie  during  that  time  of  proba 
tion,  might  not  her  happiness  have  been  even  further 
consulted  ?  " 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  343 

"  It  might.  But  does  a  man  owe  nothing  to  himself? 
Should  I  not,  in  all  probability,  have  lost  my  chance  of 
winning  her  affections  by  such  palpable  and  unexplained 
delay  and  neglect?  As  it  is,  she  wears  no  ring  of  troth- 
plight — no  picture  to  keep  alive  her  memory  of  me; 
retains  no  letters  to  bathe  with  bitter  tears ;  and  she  will 
forget  me  sooner  than  if  such  records  remained  of  our 
plighted  love.  It  is  intangible  now,  and,  though  she 
may  deplore  me  for  a  season,  she  will  not  feel  herself 
widowed  a  second  time,  and  perhaps  forever,  by  means 
of  such  visible  bondage." 

He  paused  and  folded  his  arms  upon  his  breast. 
"  Genie  is  free,"  he  continued  ;  "  yet  if  I  fall  I  shall  die 
with  the  dear  assurance  of  her  affection ;  for  those  inno 
cent  eyes  have  told  me  all  that  her  lips  so  far  have  not 
been  suffered,  nay  forced,  to  speak.  Cherish  her,  Maze- 
ron,  for  she  is  an  angel ! "  and  tears  rolled  over  his 
cheeks. 

"  But  why  should  you  suppose  that  it  is  your  doom  to 
fall  any  more  than  Blamire  ?  "  asked  the  Count  Cluche, 
himself  deeply  affected.  "Are  not  your  chances  equal  ? 
Is  it  not  the  duty  of  your  seconds  to  make  them  so  ?  " 

"  His  choice  of  weapons  gives  him  the  advantage,  and 
the  animus  with  which  he  pursues  me.  There  is  much 
in  both.  I  am  faint-hearted  in  comparison — feeling  no 
rancor  against  him — no  wish  to  take  his  life,  none  of 
that  thirst  for  his  blood  that  he  avows  for  mine.  I  have 
a  presentiment,  my  friend,  that  I  shall  fall." 

These  last  words  were  spoken  in  a  low,  gloomy  tone 
of  voice,  and,  in  spite  of  himself,  struck  a  chill  to  the 
heart  of  Mazeron  Rivers.  "  He  is  a  madman,"  he  said, 
"  this  Scotchman,  and  ought  to  be  shut  up.  That  is  my 


344  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

private  opinion.  As  to  presentiments,  I  have  long  dis 
carded  them  from  my  list  of  superstitions.  On  the  con 
trary,  I  am  more  given  to  lend  faith  to  the  Scotch  idea 
of  being  '  gay  before  a  misfortune.'  I  felt  that  myself 
once  upon  the  eve  of  a  trying  occasion  when  severe  dis 
appointment  awaited  me,  and  great  suffering  and  humili 
ation." 

He  checked  himself  suddenly,  for  his  mind  had  re 
verted  to  the  early  ruin  of  his  hopes,  attended  with  so 
much  mortification  at  Birk-braes,  an  episode  in  his  life 
of  which  he  had  never  spoken  to  his  friend,  and  which 
he  disliked  to  remember — for,  thrice-blessed  as  was  his 
present  condition,  memory  still  held  its  sting.  "  I  trust 
your  auguries  may  be  correct,  my  Mazeron ;  but,  reflect, 
I  also  shrink  from  the  alternative;  shrink  from  killing 
this  man  whom  I  have  innocently  injured.  Go  to  him ; 
try  and  bring  him  to  reason,  and  lift  this  fatal  shadow 
from  my  life." 

"  One  might  as  well  try  to  take  an  enraged  buffalo  by 
the  forelock,  as  to  do  anything  with  Blamire  under 
present  circumstances,"  said  Rivers,  sadly.  "  Poor  Genie, 
I  think,  has  made  a  happy  escape  !  " 

"No;  he  would  no  doubt  have  been  to  her  a  very 
tender  and  devoted  husband.  This  is  an  upheaving  of 
his  noble  nature.  It  is  as  when  the  vineyards  on  the 
side  of  Mount  Vesuvius  are  torn  asunder  by  the  sudden 
eruption  of  lava.  Every  man's  nature  has  unsounded, 
unconjectured  depths,  ready  to  answer  an  emergency.  I 
never  knew  what  stuff  I  was  made  of  myself  until  the 
hour  of  trial  came.  I  had  prided  myself  on  my  philos 
ophy — my  cool  courage — but  I  find  myself  at  last  weaker 
than  a  willow  wand — wax  in  the  grasp  of  my  passions." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  345 

Covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  De  Rousillon  bowed 
his  head  upon  the  table  before  him,  upon  which  imple 
ments  for  writing  reposed  for  the  night's  occupation.  To 
his  mother,  to  his  sisters,  to  his  brothers,  to  Genie  her 
self,  he  meant  to  write  a  few  brief  words  of  affectionate 
farewell  before  the  dawn  of  the  day  that  might  be  his 
last  on  earth.  Silence  prevailed  through  the  chamber, 
for  not  by  word  or  sign  would  Mazeron  Rivers  have  in 
terrupted  that  sacred  wrestle  of  soul  that  was  going  on 
mutely  yet  almost  visibly  to  him  in  the  breast  of  De 
Rousillon.  As  he  stood  behind  the  chair  of  his  friend, 
with  one  hand  resting  on  its  high-carved  Gothic  back, 
and  the  other  lightly  extended  above  the  bowed  head 
beneath,  he  looked  like  a  young  priest  bestowing  bene 
diction. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  pure  and  feminine  nature  of  this 
man  to  seek  sudden  solace  in  prayer  in  all  times  of 
tribulation  and  of  need,  and  now,  with  mute-moving 
lips,  he  prayed  that  peace  might  descend  on  the  stormy 
soul  of  De  Rousillon.  He  entreated  from  the  Most 
High  some  happy  and  unexpected  termination  to  the 
difficulties  that  beset  his  friend — his  friends — for  among 
these  he  had  come  also  to  number  Lionel  Blamire — and 
confident  that  his  prayer  was  heard,  even  though  it 
might  not,  according  to  the  views  of  the  All- wise,  be 
favorably  answered,  he  noiselessly,  and  without  fare 
well,  withdrew. 


A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OB, 


CHAPTER   XYI. 

He  conies  not,  I  have  watched  the  sun  go  down. 
And  still  he  comes  not !  Once  it  was  not  so, 
He  recks  not  how  these  bitter  tears  do  flow  ! 

PERCIVAL. 

For  we  are  pressed  by  heavy  laws. — WOEDSWORTH. 

ST.  MAURE  had  returned  at  midnight  to  find  De 
Rousillou  engaged  in  writing  letters,  quite  calm, 
and  even  cheerful  of  aspect,  and  to  acquaint  him  with 
the  results  of  his  mission.  Blamire's  eagerness  for  the 
conflict,  and  unwillingness  for  the  least  delay,  had  in 
duced  him  to  listen  to  reason  and  accept  pistols  instead 
of  carbines,  selecting  from  the  armory  of  "  Les  Hiron- 
delles"  those  famous  weapons  called  generally  "sans. 
peur,"  et  "  sans  remords,"  with  one  of  which  the  late 
"Count  Cluche"  had  silenced  forever  a  political  ad 
versary. 

These  titles  were  conspicuously  engraven  on  silver 
plates  attached  to  the  handles  of  these  formidable  weaj>- 
ons,  which  Lionel  Blamire  had  fancied  from  their  re 
semblance  to  his  twin  pistols,  "  Tom  "  and  "  Dick,"  now 
at  home,  unfortunately,  over  his  library  mantle-piece, 
and  which  in  every  rencounter  had  borne  good  luck  to 
those  who  wielded  them. 

When  Colonel  Kavanaugh  remonstrated  with  him  on 
the  subject  of  using  pistols  of  such  antiquity  and  long 
disuse,  Blamire  replied  that  their  workmanship  was  all 
the  better  for  not  being  recent,  and  that  it  was  the  busi 
ness  of  the  seconds  to  see  that  they  were  in  order. 

"  The  barrels  may  be  worn  thin,"  rejoined   Colonel 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  347 

Kavanaugh.  "They  may  hang  fire  or  explode  in  the 
hand,  in  either  of  which  case — " 

"  Fate  only  would  be  to  blame/'  interrupted  Blamire. 
"  It  is  all  settled,  I  suppose,  at  the  Great  Tribunal ;  and 
whatever  happens  I  shall  believe  to  be  the  proof  of 
God's  immutable  decree." 

"  You  are  almost  a  Mohammedan  in  your  Presby- 
terianism,  Lionel." 

"  Or  a  Greek,  or  a  Brahmin,  why  don't  you  say  as 
•well  ?  or  even  if  it  comes  to  that,  a  Catholic?  The  belief 
in  fate  is  merely  a  matter  of  temperament.  Madame  de 
Sevigne,  the  lively  letter-writer,  says  somewhere  in  her 
correspondence,  ( that  the  ball  that  killed  Marshal  Tu- 
renne  was  moulded  in  eternity.'  She  was  his  contempo 
rary,  you  know,  and  comforted  herself  in  this  fashion  for 
her  friend's  death." 

So  it  was  decided  upon,  after  consultation  with  M.  St. 
Maure,  whose  faith  in  the  traditions  of  these  pistols  no 
doubt  swayed  his  judgment  considerably,  that  "sans 
peur,"  et  "  sans  remords  "  were  to  be  the  instruments  in 
the  adjustment  of  a  quarrel  ihat  seemed  founded  on  these 
principles  of  action. 

Blamire  slept  soundly  and  rose  refreshed  to  partake  of 
his  bath  and  coffee  at  five  o'clock,  but  De  Rousillon,  who 
had  passed  an  almost  sleepless  night,  woke,  after  the 
broken  slumber  of  an  hour,  languid  and  depressed  with 
an  aching  heart  and  body  nerveless  and  unstrung.  His 
bath  and  coffee  brought  to  his  frame  little  vigor  or  re 
freshment,  but  he  put  aside  sternly  the  glass  of  "  eau  de 
\*ie"  tendered  him  by  St.  Maure.  "  I  do  not  need  Dutch 
courage,"  he  said,  "  my  friend,  and  I  must  keep  my  sight 
clear  and  nerves  steady,  but  it  is  a  wretched  business,  and 


348  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

I  chafe  under  the  conventional  necessity  of  a  meeting  that 
is  altogether  a  mistake  '  from  first  to  last/  "  murmuring 
as  he  turned  away,  "  She  never  could  have  loved  him — 
even  had  the  earth  contained  no  De  Rousillon."  "She? 
I  am  correct,  then,"  thought  St.  Maure.  "  There  is  a 
woman  in  the  case,  but  whom  ?  "  And  conjecture  was 
busy  in  his  brain.  Strange  to  say,  the  problem  was  not 
solved  to  his  satisfaction  by  any  possible  suggestion  of 
his  own  fancy,  and  was  decided  only  by  circumstances 
and  events  that  compelled  conviction. 

In  the  meantime  Genie  Montrose  had  been  made  con 
scious  of  the  cloud  that  rested  on  the  household  at  "  Les 
Hirondelles "  in  a  way  she  could  scarcely  comprehend, 
far  less  explain. 

The  day  was  a  long  one  that  brought  not  "  De  Rousil 
lon  "  to  her  side,  and  on  that  of  the  challenge  he  did  not 
cross  the  sill  of  his  own  house.  It  was  one  to  him  of 
serious  and  bitter  consideration,  as  we  know.  Then 
there  was  a  slight,  almost  imperceptible,  cloud  on  the 
faces  of  the  Count  and  Countess  Cluche,  and  Lionel  Bla- 
mire  kept  his  chamber.  * 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  seemed  flurried  yet  constrained ; 
and  Miss  Lindsay  had  nervous  headache,  and  could  not 
be  disturbed.  Her  maid  whispered  to  Mrs.  Montrose 
that  her  indisposition  was  the  consequence,  she  thought, 
of  some  bad  news  Mr.  Blamire  had  communicated  to 
her  late  the  night  before,  which  the  guilty  soul  of  poor 
Genie  immediately  appropriated  as  having  its  origin  in 
her  very  decided  refusal  of  his  abrupt  addresses. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  have  offended  them,"  she  thought,  "but 
who  could  have  imagined  such  an  indiscreet  outburst!  A 
man  I  knew  for  years,  and  valued  as  friend,  relative,  and 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WOX.  349 

neighbor,  to  break  out  all  of  a  sudden  as  a  lover !  I 
could  almost  as  soon  think  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh  in  that 
light.  It  was  really  too  preposterous,  monstrous  even." 

Evening  came,  still  no  De  Rousillon.  In  vain  that 
becoming  toilet  of  black  lace,  over  gray  silk.  In  vain 
the  La  Marque  roses  in  the  hair,  the  pearls  on  the  snowy 
bosom  and  arms.  He  did  not  come  for  whom  alone  she 
wore  this  raiment,  now  first  assumed  in  honor  of  his  fully 
comprehended  love.  The  lingering  light  died  on  the 
chestnut  hills.  The  moon  came  forth  with  her  attendant 
stars  to  cast  her  silvery  radiance  o'er  the  scene,  and  bring 
out  the  sharp  lines  of  rock  and  tree  and  vase  and  statue 
as  the  sculptor's  chisel  alone  could  never  do.  A  stillness 
crept  into  her  very  heart  that  seemed  to  bear  some  like 
ness  to  the  chill  repose  of  death.  Was  it  the  shadow  cast 
by  coming  grief?  Was  it  the  augury  of  hopes  o'er- 
thrown,  and  youth  consigned  to  a  long  night  of  woe,  such 
as  makes  age  a  signal  of  the  dawn,  which  has  its  only 
sunrise  on  the  grave  ? 

Genie  went  alone  that  night  to  the  fountain  of 
Arethusa  and  mingled  her  tears  with  its  waters !  The 
Countess  Cluche  watched  her  with  silent  anguish  from 
her  chamber  window,  that  overlooked  the  lawn.  She 
knew  what  storm  was  brooding  o'er  the  peace  of  that 
young  beloved  one,  and  earnestly  prayed  that  it  might 
burst  harmlessly  over  her  fair  and  innocent  head.  She 
had  done  all  she  could  to  avert  the  wrath  of  the  adversa 
ries — had  reasoned  with  one,  appealed  to  the  passions  of 
the  other — so  far  in  vain.  She  had  read  the  progress  of 
the  attachment  of  Genie  and  De  Rousillon  as  one  reads  a 
precious  volume,  page  by  page,  silent  about  the  contents 
till  the  end  should  come,  in  reverence  to  the  author — 


350  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

silent  even  to  the  husband  of  her  soul,  because  she  felt 
that  she  had  no  right  to  reveal  the  result  of  her  own  con 
jectures  merely  until  made  visible  and  proven  to  all  eyes. 
In  fear  and  tremulous  joy  she  had  followed  those  love- 
passages  upon  which  the  happiness  of  two  cherished 
friends  depended,  and  in  a  hope,  that  was  as  disinterested 
as  her  affections,  that  fate  might  prove  propitious  to  their 
union. 

The  cold,  the  selfish,  the  narrow-minded  of  this  world 
know  nothing  of  the  outside  kingdom  of  those  empow 
ered  by  the  possession  of  the  rare  qualities  of  generosity, 
sympathy,  and  imagination,  to  enter  into  the  lives  of 
others,  appropriate  them  for  a  season,  and  enjoy  or  suffer 
with  the  objects  of  their  disinterested  friendship  or  affec 
tion.  Such  beings  lead  dual  lives,  each  acting  upon,  yet 
resting  the  other.  For  after  all  what  is  it  that  we  so 
earnestly  desire,  so  greatly  need,  as  to  go  out  of  ourselves 
sometimes,  and  let  individuality  have  time  to  repose  and 
recuperate  ?  What — putting  it  in  a  practical  point  of 
view — could  be  more  salutary,  more  sanitary  ? 

Swedenborg  tells  us  that  angels  and  demons  exist  in 
this  world  in  the  guise  of  mortals,  "  and  by  this  shall  ye 
know  them,"  he  adds,  "  that  as  good  is  pursued  by  the 
one  for  its  own  sake,  so  is  evil  by  the  other."  "What, 
indeed,  more  clearly  typifies  an  angelic  nature  than  a 
disinterested  love  of  virtue  and  well-doing?  "What  a 
demoniac  one  so  strongly  as  a  wanton  thirst  for  mischief 
and  evil  deeds? 

Judging  thus  the  Countess  Cluche  was  one  of  the 
fleshly  angels  of  this  world,  whereof  we  read  in  the 
Scriptures  as  having  abode  all  night  in  the  house  of  the 
patriarch,  and  for  the  sake  of  whom  the  faithful  dare  not 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  351 

to  this  day  to  refuse  the  beggar  at  their  gates,  lest  haply 
angel  plumes  should  be  folded  beneath  the  torn  gaber 
dine  of  the  vagrant. 

It  is  better  to  err  on  the  right  side  and  make  sure  that 
we  refuse  no  angel. 

Genie  went  late  to  her  chamber.  The  moon  was 
passing  through  a  silvery  mass  of  clouds,  tunnelling  her 
way  through  vaporing  mountains  as  she  crossed  the  lawn. 
From  her  window,  above  the  one  and  beneath  the  other, 
the  mistress  of  the  mansion  looked  down  on  the  fair 
woman,  up  to  the  queenly  planet,  and  she  mutely  prayed 
that  the  one  might  pass  as  speedily  and  perfectly  from 
the  cloud  that  overshadowed  her  pathway  now  as  the 
moon  from  hers.  "Those  who  have  suffered  deeply  are 
the  true  observers  of  and  sympathizers  with  nature.  To 
the  young,  the  gay,  the  thoughtless,  she  seems  but  a 
splendid  panorama  displayed  for  their  amusement, 
having  no  part  in  their  lives. 

When  Genie  Montrose  entered  her  room,  she  saw  her 
boy's  nurse  sitting  by  his  bed,  waiting  anxiously  for  her 
coming. 

"  He  has  gone  to  sleep  now,"  the  woman  said,  in  that 
broad  Scotch  accent  that  grated  strangely  on  the  lady's 
ear  to-night.  "  Gone  to  sleep ;  but  he  cried  and  moaned 
for  you,  ma'am,  as  he  seldom  does,  and  asked  me  again 
and  again  whether  you  had  gone  to  join  his  papa  in 
heaven.  It  was  so  strange,  ma'am.  I  can't  think  he  is 
quite  well.  I  am  glad  you  have  come." 

"  He  is  feverish,"  said  Genie,  pressing  her  lips  on  his 
hot  brow  and  throat.  "  Where  have  you  taken  him 
to-day,  Maggie  ?  What  has  he  eaten  ?  The  time  was 
when  I  did  not  ask  such  questions,"  thought  the  re- 


352  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

morseful  mother ;  "  but  I  have  been  mad  of  late,  and 
intrusted  my  treasure  chiefly  to  another,  who,  though 
tried  and  faithful,  is  not  gifted  with  maternal  insight. 
My  Graham,  forgive  me !  " 

She  clasped  her  slumbering  infant  passionately  in  her 
trembling  arms,  then  rapidly  disrobing  herself,  dismissed 
the  tired  attendant  and  prepared  to  pass  the  night  in 
watching  by  his  pillow. 

The  servant  had  disavowed  all  neglect  of  her  charge, 
and  Genie  believed  her  assertions,  having  found  her  true 
to  every  trust,  and,  as  the  night  wore  on,  the  decline  of 
fever  encouraged  her  to  hope  that  some  passing  irrita 
tion  of  the  system  alone  had  possession  of  her  idolized 
boy. 

Morning  brought  other  revelations  that  for  a  season 
swept  everything  before  them,  find  proved  the  strength 
of  the  current  of  her  master-passion.  Just  before  dawn 
Genie  lay  down  to  sleep  beside  her  child,  now  covered 
with  a  plenteous  moisture,  and,  for  the  time,  free  from 
fever.  She  enjoyed  an  hour  of  sweet  and  refreshing 
repose,  interrupted  at  length  by  a  prolonged  tapping  at 
her  door.  This  had  at  first  failed  to  arouse  her,  profound 
as  her  slumber  was ;  but  at  last  she  started  up  suddenly, 
and  pressing  her  hands  to  her  brow,  realized  the  situa 
tion.  It  was  not  Maggie  seeking  entrance,  for  she  slept 
in  the  adjoining  room  and  the  door  between  the  two 
chambers  was  never  locked,  as  that  invariably  was  at 
night  that  opened  on  the  corridor.  Could  the  Countess 
Cluche  have  sent  her  a  physician,  having  heard  of  her 
child's  indisposition,  or  was  some  one  in  the  castle  ill  and 
in  need  of  her  services  ? 

All  these  conjectures  passed  through  her  brain,  as  she 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  353 

walked  from  the  bed  to  the  door,  having  first  rapidly 
and  mechanically  thrust  her  feet  in  her  slippers,  and 
thrown  on  her  convenient  dressing-gown,  to  answer  the 
summons. 

Miss  Constance  Lindsay,  in  very  similar  attire,  stood 
before  her. 

"  Come  in,  dear  Miss  Lindsay.  You  have  heard  of 
my  boy's  illness,  no  doubt,  through  Maggie ;  yet  I  did 
not  hear  her  go  out." 

"No,  Genie,  I  have  heard  nothing  of  the  kind.  I 
hope  there  is  not  anything  serious.  Of  course  not,  how 
ever,  or  you  could  not  look  as  you  do." 

"And  yet  I  feel  that  I  have  been  very  wrong,  Miss 
Constance,"  said  the  penitent  mother,  shaking  her  fair, 
braided  head,  for  she  had  not  unfastened  and  combed  her 
hair  on  the  preceding  night,  owing  to  her  entire  engrossment 
with  her  boy,  and  this  neglect  stood  her  soon  in  good  stead. 

"  I  knew  you  would  think  so  when  the  time  came 
round  and  you  had  reflected  on  what  you  had  done,  Genie. 
I  knew  you  would  never  let  that  stern,  dreadful  French 
man  come  between  you  and  such  a  man  as  Lionel  Blamire ! 
Yet  all  the  same,  my  dear,  they  have  gone  out  to  fight 
about  you,"  and  poor  Miss  Lindsay  cast  herself  down  in 
an  agony  of  grief  on  the  first  chair. 

"  To  fight  about  me  ?  "  said  Genie,  gazing  pallid  and 
horror-stricken,  with  great  distended  eyes,  full  in  Miss 
Lindsay's  face. 

"  Yes,  Genie." 

"  Great  God,  what  have  I  come  to  ?  "  and  for  a  moment 
she  covered  her  quivering  features  with  her  hands. 

Then  dropping  them  helplessly,  she  asked :  "  Where 
do  they  fight,  Miss  Lindsay?  we  must  go  to  them." 
22 


354  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

"  Oh,  Genie  !  not  for  the  world !  I  have  no  strength 
left.  Old  Mai  com  did  not  know  exactly  where  they 
were  to  meet,  on  the  *  Colline  Verte/  he  thought." 

"  It  is  there,"  said  Genie,  advancing  to  the  window 
and  pushing  open  the  shutters,  so  as  to  let  in  the  early 
light,  flowing  in  from  the  east,  and  pointing  with  her 
hand  to  the  verdant  slope  beyond,  on  the  edge  of  which 
a  beacon-fire  seemed  to  have  been  kindled — brighter  than 
ever  earthly  fire  glowed  before.  "  It  is  there — nearly  a 
mile  away — and  we  stand  useless  here  while  they  murder 
one  another.  Oh,  my  darling,  my  darling!" 

Miss  Lindsay  never  forgot  that  cry  of  mingled  anguish 
and  passionate  affection,  and  mechanically  she,  too,  rose 
and  went  to  the  window — following  the  pointing  hand, 
the  woeful  eyes.  Nor  did  she  ever  forget  the  scene  she 
witnessed,  photographed,  as  it  was,  on  her  brain  by  that 
moment  of  agony — that  scene  from  which  Genie  Mon- 
trose  turned  after  one  glance  at  the  distant  hill  that 
bounded  its  horizon,  as  though  she  saw  it  not;  but,  with 
another  cry,  wild,  shrill,  and  passionate  as  the  first,  "  Wait 
for  me,  Mr.  Rivers;  I  come."  She  had  descried  the 
phaeton  of  Mazeron  Rivers  approaching  the  door  of  the 
front  hall,  over  which  her  chamber  was  situated,  and  its 
master  emerging  from  the  balcony.  Signalling  to  Maggie, 
who  came  in  at  the  sound  of  voices,  startled  and  sleepy- 
eyed  from  her  nursery,  she  bade  her  in  a  low  voice  bring 
her  a  shawl  and  veil.  She  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  in 
another  moment  had  wrapped  them  about  her  head  and 
shoulders,  saturated  a  handkerchief  in  cologne  water  and 
rushed  across  the  chamber.  She  paused  on  the  door-sill, 
however,  one  moment. 

"  Don't  leave  my  baby  until  I  return,  Maggie  ;  if  ill, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  355 

call  the  Countess.  Stockings — no  matter,  there  is  no 
time  now.  God  bless  you,  Miss  Constance,"  and  she 
darted  down  the  broad  stairway,  and  in  another  moment 
stood  side  by  side  with  Mazeron  Rivers  on  the  gravelled 
carriage-way.  "  You  must  take  me  with  you,  Mr.  Riv 
ers  ;  I  know  on  what  dreadful  errand  you  are  bound,  but 
I  must  go." 

"  Do  not  insist  upon  it,  Genie ;  you  know  I  can  refuse 
you  nothing;  but  this  is  wholly  wrong,  unseasonable, 
believe  me. ' 

"  Let  her  accompany  you,  Mazeron,"  said  a  sweet  voice 
both  knew  so  well  that  it  was  scarcely  necessary  to  look 
back  to  recognize  the  speaker.  "  Let  her  go  with  you ; 
there  is  no  reality  more  torturing  than  anxiety.  God 
speed  you,  Genie."  And  in  a  few  moments  more  the 
phaeton,  drawn  by  its  brisk  American  trotters,  was  out 
of  sight  of  the  gazers,  leaving  sad  hearts  behind. 

The  Countess  Cluche  went  into  her  oratory  and  knelt 
in  fervent  prayer.  Miss  Lindsay,  spell-bound  and  tear 
less,  stood  gazing  from  the  window  on  the  scene  before 
her  until  the  sun  had  climbed  the  sky  and  became  a  dis 
tinct  ball  of  brazen  fire,  and  the  clear,  rapid  river  which 
had  looked  like  a  ribbon  of  steel  in  the  light  of 
dawn  grew  blue  and  roseate  beneath  the  smiles  of  day. 
Then  she  turned  sorrowfully  from  the  casement,  for  the 
child  was  waking  and  asking  for  his  mother  again 
in  piteous  accents,  his  mother  "gone  to  live  with  his 
papa." 

The  nurse  was  consoling  him  with  many  promises  and 
persuasions,  which  seemed  wholly  unavailing  to  quiet  his 
infantile  anxiety. 

At  last  Miss  Lindsay,  approaching  him  almost  without 


356  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

thinking  of  her  words,  said,  as  if  inspired :  "  Perhaps 
she  will  bring  you  a  new  papa  when  she  comes,  if  you 
are  a  good  boy,"  thus  unconsciously  touching  a  string  on 
which  he  often  harped. 

It  was  almost  a  mania  with  this  child  to  crave  a  father 
and  be  like  other  children  to  whom  he  found  himself  un 
equal  in  possessing  but  one  parent.  He  seemed  at  times 
to  feel  that  this  was  his  mother's  fault,  and  would  call  on 
her  almost  fiercely  to  give  him  back  his  papa.  When  told 
he  was  happy — in  Heaven — he  would  scowl  in  his  childish 
way  and  call  Heaven  a  wicked  place — God  a  bad  man,  to 
keep  his  poor  papa  who  wanted  to  come  to  him.  These 
words  were  exquisitely  distressing  to  his  mother,  who  had, 
until  within  a  few  weeks,  never  thought  of  substituting 
a  father  for  her  boy,  or  of  any  other  earthly  happiness 
than  his  baby  smile. 

A  sudden  quietude  succeeded  the  excessive  agitation 
of  the  little  laird  of  Montrose.  His  face  was  wreathed 
with  smiles  at  the  whimsical  promise  Miss  Lindsay  had 
suddenly  made  him,  and  he  stretched  his  hands  to  the 
window. 

"Will  he  come  in  there?"  he  asked.  "Can  he  fly 
with  his  pretty  white  wings  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  Graham ;  he  will  walk  in  at  the  door,  I 
hope,  and  bring  you  pretty  playthings,  aud  flowers  and 
strawberries." 

"  What  a  good  papa,"  he  said,  clasping  his  little  hands 
and  composing  himself  in  an  attitude  of  meditation  not 
unusual  with  him  when  possessed  with  an  idea.  "  Then 
I  will  wait,  and  mind  Maggie ;  you  go  home  now,  Miss 
Lindsay.  I  want  to  see  my  papa  by  hisself." 

"  I  will  send  Malcom  with  your  breakfast,  Graham ; 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  357 

what  will  you  have,  my  baby?"  she  said,  kissing  him 
tenderly. 

"  Nossing,"  was  the  weary  answer,  as  the  blue  eyes 
closed  languidly,  with  that  expression  of  fatigue  that 
always  accompanies  a  child's  indisposition,  the  lashes 
lying  lightly  over  the  pallid  cheeks,  the  eyelids  quivering. 

"  He  is  going  to  be  ill,"  thought  Miss  Lindsay,  whose 
prescience  was  won  from  experience  and  sympathy ; 
"  ill,  and  at  such  a  time.  In  any  case,  his  mother  must 
be  miserable ;  but  let  me  trust  that  Lionel,  at  least,  may 
escape  unhurt  and  life  be  spared  to  both." 

A  summons  from  her  own  nursery  compelled  her  to 
leave  Genie's  boy,  as  she  thought,  for  a  time  only,  but 
her  return  to  that  chamber  was  a  matter  over  which  she 
had  no  control,  so  essentially  do  circumstances  mould 
every  action  of  our  lives. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Has  she  a  magic  to  exorcise  hate  ? 
******** 
All  gone,  all  calm  !    Is  everything  a  dream  ? 
Thou  art  safe,  unhurt !    No  blood  of  thine  is  shed. 
I  do  not  love  thee,  but  I  am  a  woman. 

BuLWEK — "Lady  of  Lyons." 

K)APIDLY  and  steadily  the  phaeton  was  driven  on 
-L  l>  by  the  skilful  coachman  over  slope  and  level 
plain,  and  pendulous  bridge,  past  orchards  of  almond 
trees  weighted  down  with  their  unripe  fruit,  and  olive 
groves  planted  in  sheltered  nooks,  blue  and  misty  in  the 
early  light,  and  vineyards  bathed  with  dew  still  fragrant 


358          A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;   OR, 

in  many  places  with  their  lingering  wealth  of  blossoms. 
Rivers  had  attempted  once  or  twice  to  point  the  atten 
tion  of  Genie  to  objects  of  interest  on  their  way,  but  so 
far  in  vain.  She  sat  intently  staring  forward  in  the 
direction  of  the  "  Colline  Verte,"  with  moving  or  parted 
lips,  with  clasped  hands  and  tear-stained  cheeks,  praying 
evidently,  and  wrapped  away  in  bitter  reverie. 

At  last  they  struck  the  narrow  and  circuitous  road 
that,  after  many  windings,  was  to  lead  them  to  the  sum 
mit  of  the  "  Colline  Verte,"  on  the  very  top  of  which 
that  beacon  fire,  before  described,  seemed  blazing  that 
heralded  the  rising  sun,  and  relieved  against  which  they 
saw,  by  glimpses,  a  group  of  outlined  forms. 

Their  progress  was  now  necessarily  slow,  as  it  was 
devious,  and  Genie's  impatience  evidenced  itself  in  wist 
ful  glances  and  murmured  words,  to  both  of  which 
Mazeron  Rivers  made  constant  and  soothing  response. 

"  Nothing  will  be  done,  Genie,  until  I  reach  them ; 
do  not  fear,  we  shall  be  in  good  time  after  all.  I  trust 
the  whole  thing  may  be  prevented." 

"  Oh,  I  hope  so  ;  but  I  dread  the  worst,"  said  Genie, 
speaking  for  the  first  time,  "  and  they  may  only  resent 
interference,  mine  especially." 

"Your  presence,  Genie,  may  work  wonders;  yet  I 
confess  I  was  opposed  to  this  step  of  yours.  There  is 
no  reason  why  you  should  be  pushed  to  the  front  in  this 
way.  It  is  not  your  characteristic  to  be  sensational." 

"  No,  no ;  but  it  is  on  my  account,  so  Miss  Lindsay 
says,  that  they  have  gone  out  to  fight ;  and  yet  what 
have  I  done  to  either  to  deserve  to  be  so  treated  ?  Is  it 
my  fault  that  I  could  not  love  cousin  Lionel  ?  my  fault 
that—" 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  359 

She  hesitated.  Rivers  filled  up  the  pause,  "that 
De  Rousillon  loved  you?  No,  Genie,  you  are  not  to 
blame  for  either  of  these  contretemps,  but  the  passions 
of  men  have  been  the  same  from  the  beginning  of  time, 
and  fair  women  have  ever  been  the  cause  of  quarrel,  from 
Helen  of  Troy  to  this  day.  Blamire  has  behaved  badly." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  wonder  that  a  man  like  De  Rousillon  is 
not  above  duelling.  I  thought  he  was  superior  to  all 
prejudice,  a  law  unto  himself." 

"  She  loves  him,"  thought  the  Count  Cluche ;  "  God 
grant  that  he  may  be  spared  for  his  great  happiness. 
How  unconsciously  she  reveals  her  preference." 

"  Oh,  God,  I  see  them  plainly  now,"  cried  poor  Genie, 
as  a  sudden  turn  in  the  road  revealed  the  group  above 
them,  clearly  defined  against  the  crimson  sky,  yet  not 
altogether  in  that  dazzling  light  distinguishable  save 
from  outline  or  contour. 

"  They  are  in  position,"  burst  from  the  lips  of  Rivers. 
" Can  it  be  possible  that  they  have  not  waited  for  me?" 
and  he  drew  out  his  watch.  "  That,  because  I  am  five 
minutes  late,  they  proceed  to  extremities  without  me  ? " 

Setting  his  lips  firmly,  his  face  grew  ashen  pale,  and 
he  folded  his  arms  tightly  across  his  breast.  Genie 
veiled  her  eyes  with  her  hands,  trembled  visibly,  but 
was  silent  and  tearless. 

And  now  they  have  reached  the  spot,  where  stern  and 
silent  stood  the  confronting  foes,  with  their  seconds  and 
surgeons  and  other  accessories. 

"  You  will  stay  where  you  are  for  the  present,  Genie," 
said  Rivers,  as  he  sprang  from  the  phaeton.  "  Hold  the 
horses  firmly,  Jacques ;  and,  Pierre,  have  an  eye  to  this 
lady." 


360  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

But  Genie  would  not  be  restrained,  and  she  too  dis 
mounted  impetuously  immediately  after  Mazeron,  and 
fled  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  combatants  before  he 
could  arrest  her  progress. 

De  Rousillon  saw  her  as  she  came,  and  his  resolution 
was  taken  instantly ;  but  owing  to  his  position  Blamire 
was  unconscious  of  her  approach,  her  presence,  until  too 
late  to  be  actuated  by  either. 

The  demonstrations  of  his  adversary  had  been  so 
ferocious  from  the  outset  that  gradually  the  blood  of  De 
Rousillon  had  become  heated  under  the  constant  pressure 
of  a  hatred  that  he  could  scarcely  understand  or  account 
for,  and  yet  which  proved  contagious  through  its  very 
intensity  to  the  last  to  some  degree.  It  had  not  been  the 
intention  of  the  Frenchman  to  lose  one  advantage  that 
the  conflict  afforded  him,  or  throw  away  his  life  from  a 
fanatical  idea  that  the  duel  was  one  of  supererogation. 
Gradually,  resentment  for  the  whole  proceeding  of 
Blamire  had  nerved  him  to  an  almost  equal  state  of 
eagerness  for  the  encounter,  but  in  a  heart-beat  all  this 
was  changed  by  the  appearance  of  the  pale  and  care 
lessly-robed  woman,  who  advanced  with  white  waving 
arms  and  flying  feet  to  the  scene  of  conflict. 

As  soon  as  the  seconds  saw  Rivers  come  on  the  ground, 
the  word  was  given  to  fire ;  and  Genie,  a  moment  later,  be 
held  Blamire  bathed  in  his  blood,  extended  on  the  sward. 

Yet,  even  in  that  mood  of  excitement  and  unconscious 
ness  of  self,  she  had  seen  De  Rousillon  raise  his  arm 
and  fire  in  the  air — and  yet  he  was  the  one  who  stood 
unharmed !  She  tottered  forward,  extended  her  arms  to 
ward  him,  while  a  radiant  smile  for  a  moment  illumined 
her  countenance — a  smile  so  seraphic  that  no  beholder 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  361 

•    <* 

ever  forgot  its  intense  expression  of  joy  and  gratitude  ; 
then  suddenly  swerving  in  her  course,  while  a  grayness 
like  that  of  death  overspread  her  countenance,  she  fell  by 
the  side  of  Blamire  in  a  deep  fainting  fit.  The  wounded 
man  had  not  lost  consciousness,  though  suffering  fright 
fully,  for  his  right  hand  had  been  shattered  by  his  own 
pistol,  and  "  sans  remords  "  had  done  his  work  remorse 
lessly  at  last. 

"  What  strange  creatures  these  woman  are,"  mused 
Colonel  Kavanaugh,  as  he  raised  the  prostrate  form  of 
his  darling,  having  seen  the  surgeons  busily  engaged 
with  the  wound  of  Lionel.  "  Who  would  have  thought  it 
was  Blamire  she  loved,  after  all?  Why  couldn't  she 
have  said  so  and  saved  all  this  trouble  and  pain?" 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Genie  revived  to  conscious 
ness,  and  then  she  saw  only  the  friendly  faces  of  Rivers 
and  Colonel  Kavanaugh  bending  above  her.  For  a 
moment  she  remembered  nothing ;  then  all  came  back  like 
an  electric  flash.  The  revelation  was  complete  as  sudden. 

"Is  cousin  Lionel  killed?"  she  asked  faintly.  "I 
thought  I  saw  De  Rousillon  fire  in  the  air,  and  yet — 
Blamire  was  wounded !  How  was  this  ?  What  does  it 
all  mean?" 

"  Lionel's  hand  is  badly  mangled  by  his  own  pistol," 
said  Rivers.  "That  wretched  old  French  concern  he 
insisted  on  using,"  interpolated  Colonel  Kavanaugh.  "  I 
told  him  what  he  might  expect  from  the  first,  but  he  was 
as  deaf  as  an  adder,  to  the  voice  of  reason,  and  behold 
the  consequence !  I  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  pro 
ceeding." 

"  I  wonder  you  countenanced  it  at  all,"  said  Genie, 
reproachfully — "a  man  of  your  age,  of  your  experience! 


362  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

But  I  hope  there  is  an  end  of  it  now.  Thank  God,  no 
lives  are  lost !  I  trust  cousin  Lionel  may  recover  with 
out  serious  injury." 

"  Two  of  his  fingers  are  dangling  by  a  thread/'  said 
Colonel  Kavanaugh  dryly ;  "  mischief  enough,  I  think, 
for  one  time,  and,  as  to  there  being  an  end  of  it,  of 
course  there  is,  just  now.  But  his  pistol  finger  is  unin 
jured,  and,  ten  to  one,  as  soon  as  he  recovers,  he  will 
ask  for  another  opportunity  of  proving  his  claim  to 
your  affections,  Genie,  which  I  begin  to  think  are  in  the 
right  place  after  all.  Everything  depends  on  you  and 
your  inclinations.  I  trust  and  hope,  my  dear,  your 
feelings  lie  in  the  proper  direction." 

"They  do,  indeed,"  said  poor  Genie,  looking  up  sud 
denly  through  her  tears,  for  she  had  received  the  harrow 
ing  communication  about  poor  Lionel's  shattered  hand 
with  bitter  weeping.  "I  am  rightly  punished,  I  suppose, 
for  swerving  a  moment  from  the  duty  God  has  placed 
before  me.  Henceforth  my  little  Graham  shall  know  no 
rival.  His  will,  his  happiness,  shall  be  my  law  of  life." 

"  Well,  that  is  as  good  a  turn  as  any  to  give  to  the 
matter.  Stick  to  your  resolutions,  Genie,  but  if  you  do 
take  a  husband,  let  it  be  the  Scotchman,  my  dear,  not 
the  Gaul." 

"Never,"  said  Genie,  bitterly,  "never  while  reason 
and  will  prevail  over  imbecility.  When  I  become  the 
wife  of  Lionel  Blamire,  you  may  believe  me  mad ;  but 
why  particularize  ?  I  shall  not  marry  at  all.  I  have 
told  you  this,  now  let  the  matter  rest." 

"  So  it  is  this  Monsieur  Rousse,  after  all,"  thought 
Colonel  Kavanaugh,  as  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders 
worthy  of  a  native  he  turned  away  to  seek  his  suffering 
kinsman. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  363 

Thus  ended  the  duel  of  "  La  Colline  Verte."  What 
might  come  of  it  later,  none  dared  more  than  surmise  at 
the  time. 

After  a  few  words  of  condolence,  dictated  not  more 
by  courtesy  than  real  regret,  De  Rousillon  and  his  sec 
ond  returned  to  Les  Bocages,  there  to  await  the  sentence 
of  the  law,  at  that  time  very  stringent  on  the  subject  of 
duelling. 

As  an  alien,  this  could  in  no  way  affect  Blamire,  whose 
physical  agony  for  a  time  conquered  every  other  feeling, 
even  that  of  hatred  for  his  foeman,  or  passionate  affection 
for  Genie.  He  surrendered  himself  into  the  hands  of 
physician  and  nurses  with  the  docility  of  a  child  who  has 
scalded  himself  by  pulling  the  tea-kettle  over  on  his  own 
head. 

The  injury  was  self-inflicted,  and  he  had  no  one  to 
blame  but  himself,  for  had  not  Colonel  Kavanaugh 
warned  him  about  the  pistols,  and  had  not  his  adversary 
fired  in  the  air  ?  It  was  altogether  a  very  mortifying, 
and,  let  us  hope,  chastening  incident  in  the  career  of  our 
Scottish  lover  and  duellist,  in  both  of  which  characters 
Lionel  had  appeared  to  less  than  his  usual  advantage. 

The  sorrowful  procession  was  met  at  the  gates  of  the 
"plaisance"  by  the  Countess  Cluche  and  Miss  Lindsay 
in  the  pony  chaise,  and  the  anguish  of  the  latter  can  well 
be  conceived  at  the  condition  of  Blamire,  borne  on  a  lit 
ter,  and  faint  with  agony. 

At  first  she  thought  him  dying,  and  broke  out  in  bit 
ter  reproaches  against  De  Rousillon ;  then  changing  her 
attack,  she  assailed  his  friend :  "  See,  Genie,  this  is 
your  work  ! "  she  said,  bitterly,  as  she  alighted  and  stood 
beside  her  wounded  relative,  while  tears  gushed  over  her 
pallid  face.  "  May  God  forgive  you,  I  cannot ! " 


364  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

These  words  were  repented  of  later,  but  perhaps  the 
effect  they  produced  on  the  stricken  woman  to  whom 
they  were  addressed  was  enduring  and  not  to  be  over 
come.  For  it  is  certain  she  never  again,  at  any  time, 
though  bearing  the  reproach  meekly  at  the  moment, 
clasped  hands  with  Constance  Lindsay  after  the  manner 
of  their  ancient  friendship. 

The  "  Countess  Cluche,"  though  greatly  shocked  and 
grieved  at  the  accident  which  had  befallen  Blamire,  was 
relieved  that  no  life  had  been  the  sacrifice,  and  felt  a 
glow  of  real  satisfaction  when  she  heard  of  the  generous 
conduct  of  her  countryman  from  her  husband's  lips.  A 
few  whispered  words  sufficed  to  tell  her  this  simple  story, 
for  in  the  presence  of  Blamire  silence  and  sadness  pre 
vailed  over  the  little  group,  that  had  paused  one  moment 
at  the  gates  of  Les  Hirondelles. 

"Take  me  back  with  you  instead  of  Miss  Lindsay, 
who  prefers  naturally  you  see  to  walk  by  the  side  of 
Lionel,  for  I  am  exhausted  and  cannot  spare  another  mo 
ment  from  my  ill  boy."  This  was  the  appeal  Genie  made 
to  her  friend  as  she  stood  pallid  and  faint  on  the  roadside 
by  her  pony-chaise,  and  in  another  moment,  with  a  few 
words  of  apology  to  those  she  left  behind,  Marie  Minande 
was  driving  her  miniature  establishment  through  the 
grounds  at  the  utmost  speed  of  the  astonished  steed, 
while  Genie,  with  closed  eyes  and  locked  features,  lay 
scarcely  conscious  back  on  the  cushioned  seat. 

Silence  and  speed  were  best  at  such  a  time,  remarks 
and  questions  alike  impertinent.  Such  were  the  convic 
tions  of  the  fair  Jehu,  who  bent  all  her  energies  on  the 
one  point  of  finding  and  taking  the  shortest  way  to  the 
chateau. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  365 

Rosolio  was  standing  at  the  open  door  as  they  drove 
to  the  court  entrance,  and  the  old  seneschal  was  obliged 
to  lift  Genie  from  her  position  and  bear  her  in  his  arms 
to  a  seat  in  the  hall,  where,  after  the  due  administration 
of  restoratives,  she  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  enable 
her,  with  the  assistance  of  her  friends,  to  ascend  the 
staircase  and  seek  her  own  apartment,  which  she  entered 
alone. 

When  she  opened  the  door  of  her  chamber  she  saw 
Dr.  La  Rue  bending  above  her  child,  while  Maggy 
stood  mutely  beside  him.  He  was  resting  now,  but  had 
been  wildly  delirious  again  during  her  absence,  and  was 
changed  by  his  few  hours  of  illness  as  only  a  child  can 
change  from  such  a  cause. 

The  agonized  mother  knelt  by  the  bedside  and  pressed 
her  fainting  lips  to  his  little  flaccid,  burning  hands,  while 
a  wild  prayer  for  help,  for  mercy,  went  up  silently  from 
her  struggling  heart  to  the  God  whose  hand  was  heavy 
upon  her. 

It  was  borne  in  upon  her  conviction  in  some  manner 
that  all  of  this  suffering  was  a  sign  of  the  divine  dis 
pleasure,  at  her  failure  to  discharge  the  one  duty  that 
remained  to  her.  Kneeling,  she  vowed  that,  if  her  child 
were  spared,  she  would  make  his  happiness  and  welfare 
the  sole  law  of  her  being,  and  put  aside  as  sinful  every 
feeling  that  might  interfere  with  these. 

She  rose,  strengthened  by  this  brief  prayer  and  sudden 
resolution  to  look  her  fate  in  the  face,  and  to  strive 
henceforth  with  all  the  force  that  in  her  lay  for  the  life 
of  her  child.  Her  voice  was  firm  and  steady  as  she 
spoke  to  the  physician. 

"  He  is  very  ill,  Dr.  La  Rue,  I  see  from  his  counte- 


366  A    DOUBLE   WEDDIXG;    OR, 

nance ;  from  your  own — can  he  be  saved  ?  "  she  gasped, 
and  clung  to  the  chair. 

"  Oh,  I  hope  so,  my  dear  young  lady.  Care  can  do  much, 
and  the  constitution  of  this  child  seems  naturally  good." 

"  What  ails  him  ?  name  his  malady." 

"  It  is  malarious  fever,  I  think.  Within  the  last  few 
weeks  I  have  seen  several  cases  in  this  vicinity,  more  or 
less  severe." 

"Any  fatal  ones,  Dr.  La  Rue?"  The  large,  clear 
eyes  were  turned  full  upon  his  face ;  their  agony  was  un 
mistakable. 

"A  few,"  was  the  reluctant  answer. 

"Then  we  have  just  a  chance.  Does  this  malady  rim 
its  course  quickly  ?  " 

"  In  about  ten  days,  so  far  as  I  have  observed  it ;  con 
valescence  sets  in  then,  or,"  he  hesitated,  but  she  con 
tinued  for  him,  "  death  ensues,  this  is  what  you  would 
say,  Dr.  La  Rue,  did  you  not  pity  me  too  much  to  hazard 
the  whole  truth  ?  Tell  me/'  she  added,  looking  up  after 
a  pause,  during  which  her  head  had  drooped  upon  her 
breast,  her  locked  hands  fallen  before  her,  "Tell  me 
what  I  shall  do  to  try  and  save  my  son  !  Set  my  task 
before  me,  then  you  know,"  with  a  wild  smile,  "  if  we 
fail,  we  fail !  And  oh,  what  a  failure !  " 

"  The  very  first  portion  of  this  task  is  to  keep  your 
self  calm  and  strong,  equal  to  any  emergency.  Your 
child  will  require  your  whole  energy  and  attention,  and 
let  us  trust  these  may  be  rewarded." 

"I  will  try  to  forget  my  humanity  and  merge  myself 
in  duty.  I  will  cease  to  be  his  mother  in  becoming  his 
slave.  You  shall  not  find  me  wanting,  Dr.  La  Rue ;  so 
give  me  your  directions." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  367 

Then  began  that  wrestle  that  none  who  have  under 
taken  it  can  ever  forget,  the  wrestle  with  the  demon  of 
continued  fever.  The  watcher  knows  from  the  first  that 
even  if  life  be  spared  it  must  hover  on  the  brink  of 
death  before  the  end  comes,  that  the  frame  must  be  worn 
to  skeleton  leanness,  reduced  to  more  than  infantile 
weakness,  racked  with  pain  and  wasted  with  disease  ere 
the  good  genius  "  convalescence  "  deigns  to  perch  on  the 
pillow  of  the  invalid,  and  fan  with  her  benignant  wings 
the  flame  of  his  drooping  energies  back  to  life.  The 
best  view  of  the  case  embraces  a  condition  like  this ;  but 
there  is  another  just  as  probable,  that  shows  no  recupera 
tion  from  exhaustion  and  suffering,  and  points  to  a  draped 
skeleton  sitting  sternly  in  the  shadow. 

Genie's  imagination  compassed  the  whole  situation  at 
a  bound.  The  desperate  game  between  life  and  death 
was  to  be  played  in  that  chamber,  the  torch  burn  brightly 
or  be  inverted. 

Nay,  more,  the  stakes  of  another  life  were  entered 
there,  to  be  decided  by  the  issue  of  that  closely  contested 
game! 

She  closed  her  eyes  and  shuddered,  while  a  strong  hand 
seemed  clutching  at  her  throat.  It  was  her  last  display 
of  weakness  for  days.  From  that  moment  she  was  nerved 
as  those  who  walk  on  slender  wires  must  be,  stretched 
over  foaming  cataracts.  Like  them  she  would  not  per 
mit  her  vision  to  sound  the  depths  below,  but  looked 
ahead !  s. 

Days  passed  on,  and  found  the  mild  young  mother 
ever  at  her  post  of  love  and  duty — never  emerging  from 
the  shadow,  refusing  all  foreign  aid;  sustained  as  by 
spiritual  means,  for  the  occasional  draught  which  alone 


368  A    DOUBLE   WEDDING;    on, 

her  lips  could  receive,  of  milk  or  tea,  or  iced  water, 
shared  with  her  child,  seemed  scarcely  of  power  to  sup 
port  her  unwearying  energy.  The  doctor  came  and  went, 
and  saw  no  change  on  which  to  hang  a  hope  of  ultimate 
amendment.  The  child  wasted  and  ceased  to  be  irri 
table  ;  receiving  meekly  medicine  and  nourishment,  which 
seemed  to  have  no  efficacy  to  cure  or  strengthen.  His 
mind  wandered  constantly.  He  slept  fitfully,  with  half- 
open  eyes,  and  the  dark  sordes  clung  to  his  ruby  gums. 
Dread  signs  these,  that  the  initiated  know  too  well ;  of 
which  even  inexperienced  Genie  was  watchful  and  sus 
picious. 

At  last  the  crisis  came ;  he  fell  into  coma,  simulating 
death — so  profound  was  that  slumber,  in  which  no  quiver 
of  the  eyelid,  no  movement  of  the  muscles,  no  breathing 
that  could  be  heard,  save  by  the  ear  bent  over  the 
parted  lips,  gave  token  of  vitality  or  promise  of  return 
ing  consciousness. 

"  Let  him  sleep,  continue  the  drops,"  was  all  the  doc 
tor  said  when  urged  by  the  crushed  mother  to  try  some 
active  treatment. 

"  But  he  cannot  swallow,  doctor." 

"He  absorbs!" 

"And  must  he  lie  this  way,  imbathed,  unfed,  sleep 
ing  himself  to  death,  his  useless  mother  sitting  at  his 
side?" 

"  The  great  universal  mother  is  doing  more  for  him 
than  ^ou  could  do  \vith  all  your  love !  Be  firm — the 
change  will  come  ere  long." 

"  The  change  " — what  change  ?  At  these  cold  words 
Genie's  strength  all  at  once  gave  way.  She  sank  a 
flaccid  heap  to  the  floor,  not  unconscious,  but  unavailable 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  369 

for  many  hours,  during  which   Marie   Minande  kept 
watch  by  the  little  Graham,  still  lapped  in  coma. 

In  the  meantime  another  sufferer  lay  in  the  chateau, 
surrounded  by  friends  and  nurses,  and  wise  physicians, 
who  were,  with  all  their  skill,  trying  to  ward  off  the 
Nemesis  of  wounded  nerves  and  tendons' — that  sleuth- 
hound  among  diseases  more  ready  to  seize  by  the  throat 
and  slay  the  robust  and  young  than  the  old  and  feeble, 
whose  fangs  are  never  loosened  when  once  firmly  set 
while  life  remains — the  implacable  tetanus. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

To  say  he  has  departed, 

His  voice,  his  step  are  gone  I 
To  feel  impatient-hearted 

Yet  know  we  must  live  on  I 
Oh  !  I  could  not  endure 

To  whisper  of  such  woe, 
Did  I  not  feel  this  sleep  insure 

That  it  will  not  be  so. — LEIGH  HUXT. 

rpHIRTY-SIX  hours  of  slumber  that  simulated 
J-  death  had  elapsed  ere  the  child  awoke,  exhausted, 
nerveless,  yet  conscious,  and  craving  food.  The  required 
nourishment,  ever  at  hand,  was  carefully  administered  by 
Marie  Minande,  and,  after  partaking  of  a  few  spoonsful 
of  sago,  the  child  looked  up  and  smiled  faintly  in  her 
face,  that  weak  and  weary  smile  so  piteous  ever  on  an 
infant's  lips,  then  murmured  inarticulately  the  word 
"  mamma." 

He  had   seen   in   the   gray  morning   light   that  his 
attendant  was  not  his  mother,  and  this  power  of  discrimi- 
23 


370  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

nation  seemed  propitious  to  the  anxious  watcher,  who 
lost  not  another  moment  in  summoning  the  parent  to  her 
child. 

"  Be  very  calm,  Genie ;  he  is  better — I  think  he  will 
live;  but  there  must  be  no  excitement.  The  slightest 
shock  might  hurl  him  over  the  precipice  to  the  edge  of 
which  he  clings.  Remember,  this  is  a  new  birth ;  he  is 
given  back  to  you;  be  very  tender  of  this  new-born 
life." 

All  this  time  she  was  leading  the  poor  stricken  mother, 
half  dazed  with  the  suddenness  of  this  hope,  to  the  bed 
side  of  her  boy,  over  whom  she  hung,  weeping  silently 
for  a  few  moments. 

"  Mamma ;  I  want  my  mamma/'  he  repeated  feebly, 
as  he  saw  the  Countess  Cluche  gazing  at  him  from  the 
foot  of  the  bed  \vithout  perceiving  his  mother,  who  hung 
over  yet  behind  his  pillow. 

"  What  does  my  baby  want?"  asked  Genie,  command 
ing  herself  to  speak  in  a  perfectly  natural  voice.  "  What 
shall  his  mamma  bring  him?" 

"  Nossing,  only  you ! "  and  in  those  words  she  felt  re 
paid  for  nights  of  sleepless  anguish,  days  of  weary 
watching. 

The  cup  of  her  life  seemed  to  run  over  with  fresh 
joy  and  thankfulness.  Such  power  have  infant  lips  to 
confer  priceless  blessings  on  materjial  solicitude !  Oh  ! 
surely  when  God  gave  his  son  to  perish  on  the  cross,  it 
was  in  acknowledgment  of  the  superiority  of  this  tie  of 
motherhood  to  any  other  known  on  earth,  that  tie  which 
neither  disgrace  nor  ingratitude  nor  idiocy  can  break  or 
loosen,  but  which  in  its  perfection  brings  the  heart  of 
woman  to  the  gates  of  Paradise. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  371 

From  that  hour  the  child  slowly  but  surely  recovered, 
though  with  that  fitful  ness  of  recuperation  which  still 
made  the  closest  vigil  necessary  to  his  welfare,  and  filled 
his  mother's  heart  for  weeks  with  keen  solicitude. 

In  the  meantime,  after  excruciating  suifering  and  men 
aced  tetanus,  Lionel  Blamire  lay  quieted  by  the  magic 
power  of  hasheesh,  which  had  rendered  the  tense  nerves 
and  muscles  that  had  defied  all  other  means  of  relaxation 
flaccid  and  comfortable  again,  although  for  a  time  the 
mind  of  the  patient  had  been  set  adrift  by  the  occult 
remedy  on  a  sea  of  the  wildest  imaginings.  Most  of  his 
time  had  been  spent  on  an  iceberg  in  the  Arctic  ocean  in 
company  with  a  walrus  and  a  white  bear,  the  latter  of 
which  unpleasant  companions  was  divided  from  him  only 
by  a  small  floe  which  he  was  incessantly  trying  to  cross, 
and  as  constantly  slipping  back  to  the  edge  of  with  pre 
ternatural  howls.  As  to  the  walrus,  it  \vas  content  to 
peer  in  his  face  and  flap  its  cool  flippers  close  to  his  ear, 
while,  from  time  to  time,  it  showed  its  ivory  tusks  in  a 
kind  of  fiendish  fish-like  smile ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  it  was 
a  comfort  to  him,  and  he  was  grateful  for  its  attentions, 
hopeful,  too,  that  the  polar  bear,  who  must  reach  him 
sooner  or  later  (such  is  the  strange  mixture  of  reason 
and  hallucination  which  this  drug  occasions),  would 
devour  the  seal  before  attacking  the  man  ultimately  to  be 
his  prey — a  respite,  if  no  more. 

There  were  many  more  such  visions,  due  to  the  fan 
tastic  remedy,  of  which  no  mention  need  be  made,  one 
sample  sufficing  to  show  at  what  price  those  who  partake 
of  this  magic  hippocra  purchase  immunity  from  physical 
torture  or  from  mental  realities.  It  might,  however, 
have  formed  one  ingredient  in  that  wondrous  bowl 


372          A   DOUBLE   WEDDING;    OR,          ^ 

Helen  of  Greece  is  said  by  Homer  to  have  mixed  for  the 
night  draught  of  the  guests  of  Menelaus,  the  secret  of 
which  had  been  taught  her  by  an  Egyptian  sorceress,  and 
which  secured  sleep  and  marvellous  dreams  to  those  who 
quaffed  its  delicious  contents. 

In  the  chateau  of  "Les  Hirondelles,"  over  which  a 
cloud  had  brooded  grimly  for  many  weeks,  there  was 
rejoicing,  heartfelt  though  silent,  in  many  hearts  when 
the  invalid  child,  the  wounded  man,  were  both  pro 
nounced  "out  of  danger" — those  words  which,  from  the 
lips  of  a  trusted  physician,  are  like  the  cry  of  "land" 
from  the  masthead  of  the  Pinta  to  the  weary,  struggling 
soul  of  Columbus. 

On  the  first  day  permitted  to  them  by  Dr.  La  Rue, 
the  children  of  the  chateau  formed  a  brief  procession  to 
the  chamber  of  that  small  sovereign  (royal  by  the  right 
of  feebleness),  who,  reclining  in  a  deep  chair,  beyond  the 
edge  of  which  his  little  socked  feet  protruded  indolently, 
received  them  in  a  princely  state,  and  with  royal  indif 
ference. 

First  came  the  six-year-old  "  Marquis  Mazeron  "  Count 
Cluche  in  the  "  all  hail  hereafter "  (but  for  the  republic 
since  instituted,  and  which  threatens  to  hold  its  own,  but 
which  never  can  wipe  out  from  certain  minds  the  prestige 
of  ancient  blood  and  rank),  a  slender,  handsome  boy, 
with  his  mother's  purple  eyes  and  marble  skin,  his  father's 
clustering,  gold-brown  locks  and  the  famous  smile  of  the 
Kuffins. 

He  was  the  bearer  of  a  waxen  Madonna,  with  the  child 
Jesus  in  her  arms,  the  child  John,  clothed  in  a  little 
lambskin,  at  her  knee,  and  an  angel  overhead,  with  out 
spread  wings,  and  a  nimbus  suspended  over  the  group. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  373 

This  toy,  for  such  it  was  in  the  opinion  of  the  little 
Laird  of  Mont-rose,  did  the  youthful  Mazeron  gravely 
deposit  on  the  chair  by  the  side  of  that  potentate,  who 
surveyed  it  with  large,  wondering  eyes,  great  and  solemn 
with  the  recent  presence  of  illness,  afraid  to  touch  it  lest 
the  angel  might  "get  angry  and  fy  away."  A  little 
speech  accompanied  this  gift,  perfectly  incomprehensible 
to  the  recipient  thereof,  setting  forth  the  holiness  of  the 
offering  and  the  sweetness  of  the  infant  Jesus,  whom 
Graham  was  enjoined  to  imitate. 

"  Is  he  made  of  sugar  ?  Can  I  eat  him  ? "  asked  this 
small  Scottish  cannibal,  with  the  imperturbable  gravity 
of  recent  convalescence  and  waking  up  to  something  like 
interest  in  the  gift  for  the  first  time.  The  present  of 
Eugenic — the  four-year-old  romp  and  darling  of  all 
hearts,  with  her  piquant,  irregular,  and  dimpled  face,  her 
father's  image — was  far  better  received.  It  consisted  of 
a  little  snow-white  woolly  dog,  that  by  means  of  certain 
springs  could  be  made  to  open  its  mouth,  prick  up  its 
ears,  wag  its  tail,  and  utter  a  joyous  bark.  This  idol  for 
three  whole  days  did  Graham  bow  down  before  and  wor 
ship,  until  finding  that  it  would  not  eat,  he  suspected  its 
mortality,  and  consigned  it  to  contempt.  He  said  "  fanks  " 
for  this  gift,  however,  and  even  inclined  once  and  kissed 
the  donor,  so  deeply  was  he  stirred  by  its  similitude  to  a 
tiny  poodle  he  had  seen  and  coveted  when  in  Paris,  the 
principal  pet  of  his  grandmother  Ravenshaw,  who  had 
bribed  him  with  many  gifts  to  call  her  "  Auntie,"  but 
who  was  inexorable  on  the  dog  question ! 

The  third  gift  was  presented  by  the  infant  of  the  family 
— "  Marie  Euphrosyne  "  by  name — an  exquisite  ivory 
creature  with  perfect  features,  dark  eyes  and  jet  black 


374  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

hair,  fine  and  straight  as  those  of  a  camel's-hair  brush,  and 
a  mien  of  serious  dignity,  said  to  resemble  her  beautiful 
aunt  Eugenie,  and  more  like  a  miniature  woman  than  a 
baby  of  two  years  old.  This  gift  succeeded  in  rousing 
the  little  Laird  completely  and  causing  his  face  to  break 
into  joyous  smiles.  It  consisted  of  a  small  silver  tray 
carefully  carried  by  the  little  maiden,  who  firmly  refused 
the  assistance  of  her  bonne,  covered  with  fairy  cups  and 
dishes  of  fine  painted  china,  each  filled  with  some  choice 
dainty  from  bonbons  of  Paris  up  to  pomegranate  granules, 
pink  and  fresh  as  the  coral  of  eastern  mains,  designed  to 
tempt  the  appetite  of  the  invalid.  With  clasped  hands 
and  beaming  eyes  did  he  watch  his  little  visitors  array 
the  small  round  table,  en  which  he  took  his  meals,  with 
these  fairy  dishes,  while  they  clustered  round  to  see  him 
serve  his  "tea  party,"  which  he  did  seriously  and  grace 
fully,  dispensing  with  little  trembling  hands  a  cup  of  tea 
to  each ;  then  falling  back  again  in  his  chair  to  admire 
his  treasures. 

At  last  he  heaved  a  deep  sigh  of  mingled  weariness 
and  fulness  of  contentment,  and  clasping  his  little  woolly 
dog  in  his  arms,  begged  to  be  laid  in  his  white  crib,  where 
he  slept,  a  recuperative  slumber,  dreaming  no  doubt,  as 
many  wiser  brains  have  done,  of  his  novel  and  rich  pos 
sessions. 

It  was  at  the  close  of  this  little  scene,  so  fraught  with 
amusement  and  interest  to  Genie  as  well  as  her  son,  that 
the  Countess  Cluche  came  softly  into  the  chamber,  scarcely 
pausing  for  the  inevitable  "  entrez  done ! "  that  always 
followed  her  little  warning  tap,  before  she  followed  it  in 
presence.  She  came  in  with  less  than  her  usual  com 
posure. 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  375 

"  Genie,"  she  said  softly,  "  M.  de  Rousillon  has  called 
to  see  you  before  he  goes  to  Paris  to  receive  the  Emperor's 
verdict,  of  which,  however,  he  knows  the  substance 
already.  He  is  recommended  to  travel,  that  is,  exiled  for 
two  years.  Imprisonment  for  one  is  the  alternative.  Of 
course  he  will  go.  The  law  must  be  fulfilled  else,  and  it 
is  invariably  enforced  since  the  duel  of  the  two  members 
of  the  Assembly  which  ended  so  disastrously  last  year." 

During  this  somewhat  useless  tirade,  delivered  standing, 
in  front  of  Genie's  chair,  that  not  wholly  unprepared 
young  person  for  such  a  contingency  kept  her  eyes  fixed 
on  the  ground  and  her  hands  folded  on  her  lap,  seemingly 
calm  and  collected,  though  she  could  riot  prevent  the 
blood  from  suffusing  her  delicate  cheek — grown  pale  and 
thin  with  grievous  vigils. 

"  I  have  determined  not  to  see  Monsieur  de  Rousillon 
again,  dear  Mademoiselle,"  Genie  answered  at  last  in  her 
repressed  tones,  ever  in  her  the  signs  of  keenest  feeling. 
"  You  know,"  lifting  her  eyes  for  the  first  time  to  those 
of  her  interlocutor,  "  the  promise  I  made  when  my  boy 
was  taken  ill,  to  live  for  him  alone,  if  he  should  be 
spared,  to  be  guided  by  his  interests  and  his  wishes  only. 
I  told  you  of  this  as  soon  as  the  danger  was  over,  and 
this  is  why  I  cannot  see  Monsieur  de  Rousillon  until — " 
She  faltered,  hesitated — could  not  proceed  for  tears. 

"  You  love  him,  Genie,  as  well  as  he  loves  you.  This 
is  throwing  away  your  happiness.  None  other  will  ever 
be  so  great,  believe  me,  as  to  marry  the  man  of  your 
heart!" 

"Yes,  I  love  him,"  said  Genie,  recovering  herself  with 
a  great  effort.  "  But  a  curse,  so  far,  has  pursued  this 
love.  It  has  made  me  miserable  from  its  very  intensity. 


376  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OB, 

I  have  risen  to  my  feet  now  through  my  boy's  illness, 
and  I  will  not  again  lose  my  foothold.  I  am  calm — at 
peace  with  my  own  soul.  I  was  mad,  I  believe,  carried 
away  by  my  passion,  reckless  of  duty,  indifferent  to  my 
own  child.  I  will  not  place  myself  in  this  magician's 
power  again  to  be  made  the  slave  of  his  will  whenever 
he  chooses  to  extend  his  potent  wand.  I  am  free.  I 
will  remain  so  !  " 

There  was  something  in  her  voice,  her  face,  her 
attitude,  that  convinced  the  Countess  Cluche  that  this 
was  no  whim  of  the  moment,  no  impulse  of  coquetry,  and 
she  who  had  suffered  so  much  herself  for  others,  could  but 
admire  the  strong,  sad  abnegation  of  everything  beyond 
the  dead  level  of  duty  that  marked  this  surrender  of  self 
in  Genie. 

"  Could  you  not  grant  him  the  privilege  of  saying 
farewell  in  my  presence — one  that  you  would  scarcely 
refuse  any  neighbor  who  would  solicit  it — from  common 
courtesy,  from  consideration  for  the  usages  of  society?" 

"  These  are  not*  in  question  here,"  said  Genie,  mourn 
fully,  shaking  her  lovely  head,  in  that  pensive  way 
she  had  that  gave  so  dreamy  an  effect  to  her  manner. 
"  Courtesy  has  no  part  in  this  matter.  It  is  one  that 
strikes  far  deeper — ay,  to  the  life  of  life.  I  dare  not  see 
Monsieur  de  Rousillon  again.  My  resolution  would  be 
as  wax  in  the  sun  before  his  pleadings,  and  I  know 
what  errand  brings  him  here.  Let  him  go  now.  When 
this  wild  current  of  my  river  of  life  has  had  its  way,  it 
will  return  to  its  old,  tame  stagnant  flow,  and  I  may 
meet  him  safely.  Not  till  then,  having  vowed  my  vow." 

She  almost  whispered  these  last  words,  the  nucleus  of 
her  resolution,  so  at  war  with  her  own  inclinations,  and 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  377 

as  Marie  Minande  fully  believed,  with  the  happiness 
and  interest  of  her  life. 

"Shall  I  tell  him  all  this?"  she  asked,  still  stand 
ing  before  the  young,  fair  being  who  was  casting  her 
treasures  in  the  fire,  through  the  superstition  of  her 
maternity.  • 

"Oh,  no — not  all — only  enough  to  let  him  see — that 
I  am  guided  by  as  inexorable  a  fate  as  that  which  slew 
Iphigenia  at  Aulis  !  Give  him  this,"  and  she  took  from 
her  neck  the  cross  of  gold  which  she  always  wore  con 
cealed  in  her  bosom,  "  and  tell  him  for  my  sake  to  wear 
it  next  his  heart,  with  the  love  of  Christ,  which  he 
values  so  little  now  in  his  great  pride  of  intellect. 
It  is  the  only  fault  I  have  ever  seen  in  " — she  paused  a 
moment,  then  went  on  firmly — "in  my  De  Rousillon, 
yes,  mine  until  I  die,  whatever  may  betide.  Go  now, 
dear  friend,"  seeing  that  Madame  Rivers  hesitated, 
unable  to  speak  from  emotion,  yet  unwilling  to  leave 
her  in  such  a  mood,  whom  she  could  but  regard  as 
fanatical  in  her  self-devotion.  "  I  shall  not  change  my 
mind,  linger  as  you  may,  for  this  determination  is  the 
result  of  a  compromise  with  my  Creator,  deliberately 
offered,  and  I  believe  accepted." 

"  Oh,  Genie,  what  infatuation ! "  burst  at  last  from  the 
lips  that  had  no  longer  the  power  to  repress  remonstrance. 
"  Think  of  your  long,  lonely,  monotonous  life,  unshared 
by  any  affection  save  that  of  a  selfish  mother — a  child 
who  must  in  a  few  years  leave  your  side,  and  to  whom 
you  will  be  thenceforth  but  a  secondary  consideration. 
On  the  other  hand — " 

"  Lies  paradise,"  interrupted  Genie,  sadly.  "  There  !  I 
have  compassed  it  all  in  those  few  words.  Yet  it  cannot 


378  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

be.  Blame  me  as  you  will,  I  think  that  he  will  under 
stand  me.  Oh,  Mademoiselle,  I  can  no  more  yield  my 
resolution  than  the  fire-surrounded  martyr  can  give  up 
hers,  though  but  to  trample  on  her  cross  would  insure  to 
her  life  and  freedom.  It  would  kill  me  to  be  so  false 
to  my  own  convictions." 

It  was  a  great  blow  to  De  Rousillon;  sudden  and 
unexpected ;  yet  he  bore  it  bravely.  He  had  calculated 
fully  on  the  love  of  Genie  Montrose  to  cheer  his  years  of 
exile,  and  make  short  the  interval  of  his  absence  from 
the  land  he  loved ;  the  land  from  which  he  felt  no  true 
heart,  no  firm  hand  could  well  be  spared,  for  was  not  the 
hour  of  her  trial  approaching  ?  Had  he  not  for  months 
marked  the  increase  of  the  small  cloud  "  no  bigger  than 
a  man's  hand,"  which  loomed  on  the  political  horizon 
of  France,  and  which  so  few  had  time  or  vision  to 
observe?  Yet  he  was  banished.  At  a  time,  too,  when 
his  deepest  interests  were  at  stake ;  because  an  example 
was  just  then  needed  to  stay  this  evil  of  duelling,  if  evil 
indeed  it  was,  were  the  privilege  properly  exercised, 
which  gives  a  man  the  right  denied  by  the  law  to  vindi 
cate  his  honor.  Yet  not  three  weeks  before  he  himself 
had  cursed  the  conventional  cruelty  of  the  code  he  par 
tially  defended  now.  It  was  just  this  difficulty  of  sepa 
rating  the  right  occasion  from  the  wrong  that  had  made 
the  new  law  on  the  subject  so  stringent,  and  determined 
the  Emperor  to  break  down  all  barriers  of  prejudice  in 
enforcing  its  penalties.  As  if  any  man,  temporarily 
elevated  to  rule  it,  could  war  with  the  traditions  of  a 
nation. 

When  De  Rousillon   rode   into  the   court-yard   and, 
flinging  his  reins  to  a  servant,  passed  to  the  front  of  the 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  379 

mansion  on  foot  to  seek  admission,  Lionel  Blamire  was 
seated  at  the  window  of  his  chamber,  which  overlooked 
the  space  enclosed  by  the  towers  of  the  chateau,  with  his 
constant  companion,  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  and  saw  and 
recognized  the  visitor. 

"  There  he  goes,"  he  said,  bitterly,  "  to  call  on  Genie — 
untouched  by  scar  or  scathe,  with  his  honor  vindicated,  a 
hero  in  her  eyes,  no  doubt — and  here  am  I,  maimed  for 
life,  worn  to  a  skeleton,  and  unable  to  leave  my  seat. 
He  has  the  whole  field  to  himself  with  the  additional 
eclat  of  having  fired  in  the  air  (curse  his  impudence), 
and  you  know  what  women  are,  Colonel  Kavanaugh.  I 
haven't  a  chance  left,  and  yet  you  say  there  is  nothing 
in  my  theory  of  fate !  I  had  the  choice  of  weapons 
according  to  the  French  code,  and  I  took  old  'sans 
remords/  that  burst  in  my  hand,  carried  off  my  middle 
finger,  left  the  third  stiff  for  life,  and  tattooed  my  thumb 
till  it  looks  as  if  it  belonged  to  a  South  Sea  Islander. 

"'Sans  peur'  played  no  such  tricks,  and  the  French 
man  got  off  scot  free  (no  pun  intended),  but,  thank  God, 
we  are  both  young,  the  world  is  wide,  and  I  may  yet 
catch  up  with  him." 

"  Nonsense,  Lionel,  nonsense  !  I  will  countenance  no 
more  such  folly.  I  told  you  my  opinion  of  your  con 
duct  from  the  first.  I  need  not  repeat  it — but  of  this  be 
sure,  I  shall  set  you  down  as  a  lunatic  if  you  pursue  this 
matter  any  further.  What  right  have  you  to  dictate 
terms  to  Genie  Montrose?  Her  hand  is  her  own,  to 
bestow  as  she  chooses.  You  have  no  claim." 

"And  if  I  haven't,  I  want  to  know  who  has?"  broke 
in  Lionel,  someAvhat  fiercely.  "Am  I  not  next  of  kin  ? 
Eemember  Ruth  and  Boaz.  It  is  a  case  almost  in  point. 


380  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

Have  I  not  been  intimate  with  Montrose  and  herself  for 
years,  besides  being  a  near  relative  of  her  father's  ?  and 
am  I  not  as  good  as  the  Frenchman  any  day,  and  of 
better  blood — for  we  go  back  to  Robert  Bruce  for  our 
ancestors — and  it  is  well  known  that  he  is  the  son  of  a 
mechanic ! " 

"His  mother  was  noble,"  said  Colonel  Kavanaugh, 
dryly,  taking  snuff.  "  Have  a  pinch,  Lionel,  it  will 
quiet  you  down." 

"  I  have  not  learned  to  take  snuff  with  my  left  hand 
yet,"  said  Blamire,  mildly,  pointing  to  his  wounded  right, 
which,  bandaged  and  helpless,  lay  on  the  pillow  on  the 
deep  stone  window-sill.  "  Thanks  to  my  stars.  I  sup 
pose — but  to  resume  our  subject.  I  was  the  very  man 
of  all  others  who  would  have  suited  Genie.  The  estates 
are  contiguous.  Her  son  would  have  been  our  neighbor, 
even  when  grown  and  married.  I  have  enough  for  both, 
and  would  have  taken  good  care  of  her  and  hers,  and 
loved  her  with  all  my  soul." 

He  paused,  as  if  suddenly  overcome. 

"Very  good  things  in  their  way,  Lionel,"  said  the 
colonel,  tapping  his  snuff-box  softly,  "but  a  woman's 
fancy !  Do  you  make  no  allowance  for  that,  my  dear 
Blamire?  Her  mother  came  very  near  going  off  the 
handle,  you  know,  about  this — ahem  ! — this  artist  Count 
of  Mademoiselle  Minande,  and  nothing  did  restrain  her 
but  the  maternal  sentiment!  It  is  very  strong,  you 
know,  in  these  weak,  high-strung  women !  Genie,  for 
instance,  a  bright  creature  certainly,  but  not  equal  to  the 
wise  woman  of  Tekoah,  has  made  some  sort  of  vow,  I 
understand,  to  devote  herself  to  that  boy  of  hers  exclu 
sively  hereafter.  She  told  me  this,  after  she  came  to 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  381 

from  that  strange  fainting  fit  of  hers  on  the  day  of  the 
duel — and  I  think  she  will  keep  her  word" — snuffing 
prodigiously. 

"  Her  word !  Not  she !  By  this  time,  no  doubt,  she 
is  engaged  to  the  Frenchman.  It  does  not  take  long  to 
plight  that  sort  of  troth.  Good  God !  how  my  hand 
hurts  me  again !  I  thought  the  pain  was  over." 

"  His  heart,  he  means,"  mused  Colonel  Kavanaugh. 
"  Poor  fellow,  what  a  cantankerous  fool  he  is  to  be  sure ! 
Love  plays  strange  pranks.  This  used  to  be  a  rational 
being." 

But  he  only  said,  "  Dr.  La  Rue  must  give  you  more 
hasheesh.  Shall  I  send  Malcolm  to  fetch  him?" 

"No,  no;  he  will  be  here  presently.  He  divides  his 
time  pretty  equally  of  late  among  the  sick  at '  Les  Hiron- 
delles.'" 

"  Miss  Constance  Lindsay  is  on  the  list  now,  I  believe. 
What  do  your  children  do  without  her?" 

"  The  Countess  has  them  in  hand,  but  I  would  not 
let  them  join  the  ovation  up-stairs  to-day.  I  am  sorry 
for  Genie,  but  I  think  she  has  treated  me  badly.  Our 
children  will  be  foes  in  consequence,  unless  she  relents." 

"  You  astonish  me,  Blamire !  A  man  of  your  sense 
to  be  so  unforgiving,  so  unjust !  I  cannot  see,  to  save 
my  life,  what  Genie  Montrose  has  done  to  offend  you  or 
yours.  As  for  Miss  Lindsay,  her  conduct  was  perfectly 
inexcusable.  I  think  it  is  Genie  who  is  maltreated ! " 

"What  did  the  old  cat  do  to  Genie?" 

"  She  rated  her  soundly  as  the  cause  of  your  injury, 
your  death  she  feared  at  the  time,  and  this  before  many 
persons.  I  do  not  think  Genie  can  get  over  this ! " 

"No,  and  she  ought  not  to  get  over  it  without  an 


382  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

apology.  Yet  there  were  extenuating  circumstances  I 
shall  not  interfere  in  the  matter ;  it  is  my  own  private 
wrong  that  rankles  only.  Had  I  been  an  inferior  she 
could  not  have  refused  me  more  contemptuously." 

"  You  were  too  rough,  too  precipitate,  Lionel.  Our 
gentle  American  women  are  not  taken  to  wife  as  Samson 
chose  Delilah.  They  are  wooed  patiently,  and  won  after 
many  trials,  treated  as  goddesses  by  lovers,  and  queens  by 
husbands.  You  Britons  should  never  seek  to  win  Ameri 
can  wives  with  your  despotic  notions." 

"  I  suppose  you  saw  where  the  despotism  lay  in  Clara's 
case,  Colonel  Kavanaugh  ?  You  are  hardly  just  to  me," 
said  Lionel. 

"  Hers  was  an  exceptional  case,  Blamire,  and  she  died 
in  striving  for  mastery  with  a  nature  like  yours.  The 
obstinacy  of  inertia  was  something  she  could  neither  con 
quer  nor  understand.  Genie  is  a  different  woman.  She 
would  yield,  but  lose  affection  for  her  tyrant,  however 
mild  he  seemed ;  and  with  her  romance  and  love  are  one 
and  indivisible.  Now  you  have  destroyed  the  germ  of 
both  with  your  intense  commonplace.  Had  you  forborne, 
heaven  knows  what  might  have  followed." 

"  With  that  fellow  in  full  chase  how  could  I  forbear  ! 
I  had  to  risk  everything  or  yield  the  field  to  him !  It 
takes  an  old  bachelor  to  talk  rubbish  about  women." 

"  Speak  of  the  devil  and  his  imps  will  appear,  Lionel," 
said  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  wisely  ignoring  the  assault  on 
his  celibacy,  a  state  he  had  never  ceased  to  secretly  con 
gratulate  himself  upon,  depreciate  it  who  might.  "  Here 
comes  our  Gaul,  sadly  cut  in  the  comb,  if  I  mistake  not, 
since  he  entered  the  salon  of  '  Les  Hirondelles ' — his  head 
droops — his  features  are  locked — his  walk  is  sad  and  un- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  383 

certain — he  mounts  his  horse  and  slowly  rides  away  like 
one  in  a  deep  reverie !  Little  Genie  is  as  good  as  her 
word — she  has  refused  De  Rousillon  ! " 

"I'd  give  a  thousand  pounds  if  I  could  think  so," 
cried  Blamire,  starting  suddenly  to  his  feet.  "I'd  go 
after  him  and  apologize  for  insinuating  that  he  was  an 
ape  and  asserting  his  conduct  ungentlemanly,  even  if 
Genie  Montrose  never  looked  at  me.  But  for  that  gun 
smith's  son  to  win  and  wear  my  heart's  treasure  !  It  can't 
be  borne,  Colonel  Kavanaugh ;  it  can't,  indeed.  I  should 
have  to  insult  him  again." 

"  Will  you  promise  me,"  said  Colonel  Kavanaugh, 
gently,  compelling  Lionel  to  reseat  himself,  "that  if  I 
can  prove  to  you  that  Genie  has  sent  him  away  without  a 
ray  of  hope,  you  will  never  resume  your  belligerent  atti 
tude  with  De  Rousillon  and  wait  patiently,  like  a  man, 
for  what  the  future  may  bring  to  both  ;  say,  Lionel,  will 
you  promise  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  will,  and  gladly,  and  forgive  him  for 
wounding  my  hand  in  the  bargain.  Oh,  I  forgot !  it  was 
my  own  infernal  pistol.  All  the  same,  though — the  con 
sequence  of  our  duel,  and  as  such  to  be  considered." 

"  I  can't  quite  agree  with  you  there,  you  know,  Lionel, 
since  he  fired  in  the  air.  Just  now  it  was  your  inauspi 
cious  fate.  How  changeable  you  are  becoming !  " 

"And  what  an  infernal  old  tease  are  you,  cousin  Kav 
anaugh  !  I  wish  you  were  yoked  for  life  to  Miss  Con 
stance,  just  to  punish  you  both  for  all  past  offences. 
What  a  pair  of  paragons  the  world  would  see  in  these 
married  celibates ! " 

"A  truce  to  your  folly,"  said  Colonel  Kavanaugh,  col 
oring  to  the  roots  of  his  wig,  which  he  had  resumed  of 


384  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

late  from  some  idea  of  its  comfort  or  becomingness.  "  I 
trod  that  measure  years  ago,  and  we  are  simply  good 
friends  now — but  you  must  not  bandy  venerated  names 
so  lightly.  Miss  Constance  might  be  offended;  as  for 
me,  I  should  be  proud  of  the  connection." 

That  these  words  fell  on  fertile  soil  and  bore  good  fruit, 
the  end  of  this  tale  may  show.  At  the  time  they  were 
uttered  they  meant  no  more  than  the  idle  wind — the 
mistral  blowing  keenly  through  the  chamber  on  that 
hot  August  day,  with  its  subtle  under-current  of  chill- 
ness. 

Dr.  La  Rue  placed  Lionel  under  the  influence  of  an 
opiate  that  night,  so  restless  was  his  condition,  and  warned 
him  of  the  danger  of  excitement  in  his  case,  but  the  news 
Colonel  Kavauaugh  brought  him  on  the  following  day, 
direct  from  head-quarters,  did  more  than  morphine  to  calm 
his  brain  and  quiet  his  pulse. 

The  "Countess  Cluche  "  had  told  him  of  her  several 
interviews  with  Genie  and  De  Rousillon,  of  the  deter 
mination  of  the  one  not  to  be  shaken  by  any  persuasion 
of  hers  and  the  discomfiture  of  the  other,  to  relieve  which 
no  reasonable  hope  could  be  offered.  They  were  on  the 
same  platform  now;  the  favored  lover  and  discarded 
suitor,  and  Blamire  slept,  the  sleep  of  the  righteous  in 
"  view  of  the  similarity  of  their  situations. 

"  She  will  never  be  his,"  he  thought,  "  whether  I  get 
her  or  not;  and  there  is  consolation  in  that  thought. 
She  will  go  back  to  Rookhurst,  and  I  will  serve  for  her, 
as  Jacob  did  for  Rebecca,  seven  years,  if  it  be  needful, 
and  wait  patiently ;  but  that  Gaul  must  never  set  foot 
in  Scotland,  or  '  his  blood  shall  dye  the  heather/  " 

After  this  communication  Blamire  got  well  rapidly, 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  385 

and  a  few  days  later  found  himself  in  the  drawing-room, 
whence  he  sent  up  his  card  to  Genie. 

It  was  returned  with  a  few  pencilled  words  on  the 
back,  declining  to  receive  him  then  or  thenceforth ;  their 
acquaintance  was  ended  for  life,  as  she  asserted.  But, 
although  somewhat  discouraged  by  this  proceeding,  Bla- 
mire  by  no  means  despaired  of  future  conciliation,  and 
even  success. 

Such  was  the  indomitable  pluck  of  this  thick-headed 
son  of  the  thistle ! 

A  few  days  later  saw  Genie  on  her  way  to  Switzerland 
to  join  her  mother  at  Geneva,  under  the  escort  of  Colonel 
Kavanaugh.  Her  boy  gathered  health  visibly  as  they 
proceeded  northward,  and  the  faint  rose-tinge  that  had 
always  distinguished  her  beauty  came  back  to  his 
mother's  cheek.  So  that,  when  they  reached  their  desti 
nation,  Mrs.  Ravenshaw  could  scarcely  realize  that  her 
children  had  been  ill  and  suffering. 

She  herself  was  radiant  with  health,  and  all  uncon 
scious  of  the  cruel  trial  to  which  she  was  soon  to  be 
subjected — only  held  in  abeyance  until  the  arrival  of 
Colonel  Kavanaugh,  who  was  already  in  the  secret  of 
the  threatened  calamity — the  determination  of  Major 
Ravenshaw  no  longer  to  let  his  sword  rust  in  its  sheath 
when  the  voice  of  his  country  was  calling  him.  "Mary 
land,  my  Maryland,"  rang  through  his  heart  by  night 
and  clay.  He  lost  his  strength,  his  appetite,  and  grew 
irritable  and  capricious.  Mrs.  Ravenshaw  feared  that 
his  brain  was  softening,  when  he  brought  her  a  paper  to 
sign  her  dower-right  in  one  of  his  silver  mines,  from 
which  he  had  received  his  chief  revenue  up  to  that  time. 

He  was  about  to  sell  it  to  an  English  speculator  for 
24 


386  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

less  tliau  one-third  of  its  value,  payable  In  British 
stocks. 

"  They  can't  confiscate  that,  you  know,  my  dear,"  he 
had  said  in  extenuation  of  his  act,  "and  it  will  always 
be  a  certainty  for  you  and  the  children,  in  case  anything 
happens  to  me.  I  might  be  killed,  you  know." 

"So  might  any  one,"  urged  Mrs.  Raveushaw;  "but 
even  hi  that  case,  wouldn't  the  silver  mine  be  better  than 
the  stocks,  yielding  but  three  per  cent,  for  your  wife  and 
children  ?  Rerneml>er,  I  object  to  this  proceeding,  but, 
of  course,  I  will  sign  away  my  dower,  as  the  property  is 
yours.  Were  it  mine,  no  power  could  induce  me  to 
do  so." 

"Were  it  yours  no  request  of  the  kind  would  be 
made,  my  dear  Isabella ;  but  the  results  of  the  sale  will 
be  for  your  use  alone,  and  registered  in  your  name.  I 
may  fall,  you  know." 

"  I  thought  you  said  you  had  plenty  of  money  in  bank 
for  two  years'  support,  and  that  no  neutral  property 
should  suffer  during  the  war?  Besides,  in  California, 
all  is  calm ;  scarcely  a  ripple  of  the  rebellion  reaches 
that  distant  State,  where  we  should  have  gone  in  the 
beginning,  instead  of  coming  here  to  be  cut  off  from  our 
resources." 

"  It  might  have  been  better,  but  as  it  is,  here  we 
shall  stay;  you  and  the  children  at  least,  and  Genie. 
I  may  have  to  return  to  look  after  our  interests,  and 
who  knows  what  might  happen  during  my  absence? 
You  will  now  be  placed  above  want,  in  any  case.  There 
is  such  a  thing  as  shipwreck." 

The  day  after  Colonel  Kavanaugh's  return  all  was 
explained,  and  Mrs.  Ravenshaw  wondered  at  her  own 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  387 

blindness.  The  South  was  beginning  to  lose  her  early 
laurels.  Battle  after  battle  was  going  against  her,  and 
Major  Ravenshaw,  who  had  soothed  his  spirits  with 
hopes  of  her  success  during,  the  brief  period  of  her 
triumph  and  his  inertia,  could  not  bear  to  be  absent  from 
her  side  in  the  time  of  peril  and  disaster. 

Vain  were  the  remonstrances  of  his  friends — vain  the 
tears  and  prayers  of  his  wife — vain  the  affectionate  fore 
bodings  of  Genie  Montrose,  whom  he  loved  as  his  own 
daughter !  Placing  his  family  under  the  charge  of  their 
early  guardian,  and  committing  the  issue  of  his  act  to 
God,  he  went  where  his  conscience  rather  than  inclina 
tion  called  him,  and  putting  the  sea  between  himself  and 
his  earthly  treasures,  he  hastened  to  Richmond  to  offer 
his  sword  and  services  to  President  Davis. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Journeys  end  in  lovers'  meetings, 

Every  true  mail's  sou  doth  know. — SHAKESPEARE. 

American  war  had  closed  as  suddenly  as  the  lids 
of  the  Book  of  Life  are  shut  on  its  contents  by  the 
preacher  who  has  read  his  allotted  chapter  in  the  pulpit, 
as  a  star  shoots  from  the  upper  world  to  fall  in  meteoric 
ashes  on  the  earth  or  to  descend  in  the  figure,  as  a  candle 
expires  that  has  long  flickered  in  its  socket. 

People  were  astonished  when  the  end  came,  though 
they  knew  the  end  was  coming,  and  the  black  seal  of 
tragedy  was  set  on  the  marvellous  scroll  of  the  history  of 


388  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

that  day  by  the  assassination  of  Lincoln.  Circumstance 
after  circumstance  followed  this  catastrophe,  each  in  its 
way  as  romantic  and  impressive.  Dark  suspicions  of 
complicity  with  crime  shadowed  the  ascension  to  the 
presidential  throne  of  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Tarquin  of 
Republican  kings.  Nor  were  these  lessened  in  observing 
minds  by  the  unjust  holocaust  of  Mrs.  Surratt. 

It  was  during  the  lull  that  succeeds  a  tempest  ever — 
whether  material  or  spiritual — that  Mrs.  Ravenshaw  and 
Genie,  accompanied  by  their  boys,  returned  after  a  three 
years  sojourn  in  Europe,  to  dwell  again  at  Birk-braes, 
and  there  meet  for  the  first  time  since  their  separation  in 
Europe  the  wounded  confederate  officer  whom  circum 
stances  had  established  as  its  master. 

They  came  to  their  old  home  under  the  escort  of  Ruf- 
fin  Thermor,  his  younger  brother  having  married  abroad. 
Owing  to  the  trusteeship  of  Colonel  Kavanaugh  (neutral 
in  politics  as  far  as  his  outward  manifestations  went)  the 
property  came  under  no  act  of  confiscation,  and  as  the 
soil  of  Maryland  had  never  been  invaded  by  a  hostile 
army,  and  the  negroes  who  had  lived  on  the  estate  con 
tinued  to  reside  there  and  cultivate  its  fields  (though 
emancipated  by  law),  the  owners  of  Birk-braes  found 
it  still  in  habitable  order,  and  very  little  changed. 

Rena  and  Juba  had  gone  to  Europe  with  their 
masters,  and  had  escaped  the  contaminating  influences  of 
early  freedom,  which  seemed  to  Southern  negroes  to 
mean  much  more  than  it  really  did,  and  deluded  them 
with  the  hope  of  agrarianism. 

They  came  back  with  a  hearty  contempt  for  the  new 
order  of  things,  which  embraced  retrenchment  in  every 
shape,  and  with  a  perfect  indifference  to  the  wages 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  389 

so  eagerly  craved  by  their  brethren — poor  substitutes 
for  unlimited  generosity  in  the  case  of  those  especial 
favorites. 

Major  Ravenshaw  was  sadly  altered  by  his  warlike 
experiences,  and  more  than  all  by  his  bitter  term  of 

imprisonment  at  Fort  M ,  where  it  became  a  matter 

of  regret,  it  may  be  remembered,  when  rats  were  exter 
minated  by  an  over-demand  for  these  delicacies.  The 
wound  had  never  healed  kindly  and  he  halted  in  his  gait 
from  its  effects,  sustaining  himself  on  his  famous  sword- 
cane  with  a  melancholy  and  knightly  grace  that  was 
extremely  touching  in  the  eyes  of  his  devoted  wife  and 
step-daughter. 

He  had  distinguished  himself  by  the  gallantry  and 
impetuosity  of  his  charges  in  several  battles  at  the  head 
of  the  foreign  regiment  he  had  enlisted,  equipped  at  his 
own  cost,  and  brought  with  him  from  Europe. 

Most  of  his  men  had  been  killed  or  had  died  in 
prison,  but  the  few  that  remained  were  so  far  quartered 
on  him  at  Birk-braes,  or  settled  at  his  own  expense  in 
Sand-piper. 

Three  years  had  wrought  great  changes  in  the  once 
peaceful  and  prosperous  "  Bay  settlement."  Some  of  the 
families  who  had  resided  there  had  drifted  away  after 
the  loss  of  relatives,  and  the  emancipation  of  slaves.  Old 
landmarks  seemed  effaced,  and  radicalism  ruled  the  hour. 

Dr.  Mandamus  had  espoused  the  widow  of  one  of 
his  friends  slain  in  battle,  chiefly  to  have  the  privilege  of 
supporting  her  in  her  deep  poverty  with  her  infant 
family,  and  was  happy  in  spite  of  his  sacrifice.  Another 
determined  celebate  of  our  acquaintance  had  become  a 
benedict  in  a  distant  laud. 


390  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

Colonel  Kavanaugh  had  married  Miss  Constance 
Lindsay,  and  her  "  British  stocks,"  about  one  year  previ 
ous  to  the  return  of  the  Ravenshaws,  and  Genie,  at  a 
nominal  price — glad  to  be  able  to  so  oblige  her  guardian 
— had  leased  to  him  Rcokhurst  during  the  minority  of 
her  son. 

This  lovely  place  met  every  requisition  of  his  fancy, 
and  as  Miss  Lindsay  was  devoted  to  Scotland,  he  deter 
mined  to  pass  the  remnant  of  his  days  in  the  land  of  his 
forefathers.  The  marriage  had  taken  place  at  Blamire 
Hall,  just  before  the  death  of  Major  Stanley,  whose 
heart-broken  widow,  with  her  little  six  year  old 
daughter,  had  in  consequence  of  this  bereavement  gone 
back  to  the  home  of  her  childhood. 

The  brother  and  sister  were  again  reunited  and  all-in- 
all  to  each  other  as  they  had  been  in  their  orphaned 
youth,  and  Lionel's  boys  became  the  charge  of  Rose 
Blamire,  as  did  her  "  Lily  "  grow  to  be  the  idol  of  her 
uncle  Lionel — on  the  whole  a  sad  and  hopeless  content 
ment  had  come  to  be  the  lot  of  these  young  people  who 
began  life  with  such  fervent  aspirations.  Duty  and  reli 
gion  sustained  them  on  their  paths  of  daily  domestic  effort 
and  monotonous  occupation,  and  perhaps  in  the  end  they 
were  as  happy  as  the  average  men  and  women  of  the 
world ;  but  something  was  wanting  to  make  their  lives 
complete — that  came  no  more  to  either — that  will  never 
come! 

Coriander  had  followed  the  fortunes  of  Colonel  Kav 
anaugh  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage,  but  one  season's 
experience  of  Scotland  determined  him  to  return  to  Mary- 
laud.  The  British  servants  that  were  assembled  in  readi 
ness  for  the  happy  pair  at  Rookhurst  (the  same  that  had 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  391 

served  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Montrose)  were  to  his  sensitive 
Ethiopian  tastes  objects  of  unmitigated  contempt  and  dis 
gust.  His  oriental  salaams  and  hand-waves  were  thrown 
away  on  these  outside  barbarians,  or  turned  into  coarse 
ridicule  by  beings  who  did  everything  by  rule  and  be 
haved  like  automatons.  That  exquisite  knack  he  had  of 
bearing  a  dish,  like  a  caryatide,  on  the  tips  of  his  fingers, 
far  above  his  head,  to  be  deposited  with  graceful  rever 
ences  before  his  masters,  made  him  an  object  of  mockery 
in  the  Scottish  pantry.  Then  he  could  not  bear  the 
"  burr  "  in  their  speech,  from  which  his  sensitive  ear  re 
coiled  ;  nor  the  bagpipes,  introduced  of  evenings  in  the 
servants'  hall ;  nor  the  bread  and  cheese  and  beer  that 
constituted  so  large  a  portion  of  each  repast — he,  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  the  daintiest  dishes  of  Mrs.  Thermor's 
cuisine !  His  very  refinement  made  him  wretched,  and 
he  determined  to  carry  out  a  long-cherished  idea  of  "sa 
loon-keeping  "  that  had  pursued  him  for  years,  as  the 
consequence  of  his  master's  death  and  his  own  promised 
legacy  of  freedom  and  one  thousand  dollars,  in  case  of 
such  a  catastrophe. 

He  compromised  with  Colonel  Kavanaugh  for  five 
hundred  dollars  down,  and  to  the  infinite  relief  of  "  Miss 
Constance,"  to  whom  his  tyranny  was  well  known,  he 
left  Rookhurst  forever.  The  accounts  he  gave  of  Scot 
tish  housekeeping  elicited  groans  and  ejaculations  from 
his  sable  friends  at  Birk-braes,  to  whom  he  appeared  from 
his  own  representations  in  the  light  of  a  gastronomic 
martyr !  They  could  scarcely  believe  that  a  people  could 
exist,  and  call  themselves  civilized,  to  whom  Indian  corn, 
with  its  adjunct  of  hominy,  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  lima 
beans,  and  egg-plants  were  unknown ;  who  raise  tomatoes 


392  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OB, 

and  peaches  under  glass,  and  never  had  no  "  cowcumbers, 
water-millions,  nor  pumpkins  !  " 

"  Wat  does  dey  eat  den,  bruder  Coriander  ?  "  asked  the 
fat  old  cook  Sabra,  pausing  before  him  on  her  way  to  the 
stove  with  a  peach-cobbler  in  a  huge  pan,  intended  for  the 
servants'  dinner. 

"  Oat-meal  porridge  for  one  thing,  and  sheep  soup  for 
another,  and  wild  meat  and  cold  bread,  and  marmalade 
for  breakfast,  and  all  such  like  trash  ;  and  no  vegetables 
in  their  gardens  that  a  gentleman  would  put  on  his  table 
in  this  country.  Turnips  and  beets  and  carrots  and  that 
sort  of  stuff,  and  apples  that  we  would  pitch  out  of  a 
picked-over  barrel  for  the  pigs,  and  the  meanest  pears. 
Good  Lord!" 

An  universal  groan  made  a  chorus  to  the  latter  exclama 
tion,  then  there  was  a  pause. 

"  No  wonder  dere  ain't  no  colored  people  out  dere ! 
How  dey  git  dere  work  done  ?  " 

"  Dey  has  to  put  up  with  their  own  folks — dere  poor  kin 
(dey  calls  themselves,  you  see,  all  by  one  name),  and  dere 
manners  is  ob  de  poorest.  Dey  hasn't  sense  enough  to 
know  a  genplemanly  culled  pusson  wen  dey  sees  him ! 
Some  ob  dem  fools  took  me  fur  a  wild  Ingun,  and  pur- 
tended  to  be  skeared  when  I  come  near  'em  !  I  pities  de 
Colonel,  from  my  heart,  I  does !  He  will  never  see  a 
spring  chicken,  nor  a  buckwheat,  nor  rice  cake  again,  nor 
a  soft  waffle,  in  his  born  days  !  Dey  'lows  it's  wasteful 
to  kill  young  chickens,  and  onhealthy  to  eat  hot  cakes,  and 
Miss  Lindsay,  she  gives  in  to  all  dere  fool  noshins.  It 
will  be  the  def  of  my  old  massey — ahem  !  boss  I  mean  ! " 

"  Well,  honey,  we'se  all  born  to  die !  "  exclaimed  Sabra. 
"  He  done  mity  well  by  you  any  way,  brudder  Coriander 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  393 

— gibbin'  you  clat  pile  ob  money  !  Five  hundred  dollars ! 
I  never  seed  so  much  as  that  at  one  time  in  all  my  born 
days.  Is  it  all  in  silver  an'  gole?" 

"  Wat !  wid  heaps  of  Yankees  about  here  ?  Don't 
you  all  know  Coriander  Kavanaugh  better  dan  dat?  I 
was  constructed  how  to  draw  my  money  on  paper  by  de 
Colonel  hisself  from  de  treasury  at  Washington!" 

"  Hebben  bless  de  boy !  Dis  comes,  chillen,  ob  trabelin' 
in  foreign  countries !  Well !  well."  And,  with  a  deep 
sigh  of  mingled  envy  and  approbation,  aunt  Sabra  pro 
ceeded  on  her  way  to  bake  her  pies,  and  broke  up  the 
caucus. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  either  of  Genie's  lovers 
had  abandoned  hope,  or  the  pursuit  of  their  object,  during 
the  interval  between  the  duel  at  "Les  Hirondelles"  and 
her  return  to  the  United  States. 

Several  were  the  efforts  Lionel  had  made  to  obtain  an 
interview,  though  always  without  success.  He  had  fol 
lowed  her  to  Switzerland,  to  Rome,  to  Vienna,  all  in 
vain ;  and  written  volumes  that  were  never  answered. 
Against  Blamire  Genie  cherished  a  deeply-seated  aver 
sion,  founded  on  the  injustice  of  his  behavior  to  De 
Rousillon,  and  the  indelicacy  with  which  he  had  dragged 
her  name  into  publicity  by  his  open  avowals  of  his 
motive  for  insulting  and  meeting  his  opponent.  After 
his  sister's  bereavement,  Lionel  Blamire  desisted  from 
what  had  become  through  circumstances  a  persecution 
rather  than  courtship,  and  merged  thereafter  as  far  as  he 
could  his  own  feelings  in  the  sorrows  of  Rose  and  her 
daughter. 

The  marriage  of  Miss  Constance  Lindsay  with  Colonel 
Kavanaugh  gave  him  neighbors  that  greatly  aided  to 


394  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OK, 

console  his  sorrows  and  interest  him  in  social  life  again ; 
and  the  determination  of  Genie  to  revisit  Scotland  no 
more  during  her  son's  minority  cut  off  all  hope  of  sub 
sequent  success  in  that  quarter. 

Blamire  was  quieted,  and  the  fever  in  his  blood  died 
gradually  away.  He  resigned  himself  to  the  mild  sub 
stitution  of  a  sister's  affection  for  the  fuller  conjugal  life. 
To  him  no  second  passion  was  possible. 

De  Rousfllon  had  from  time  to  time  written  to  Genie 
letters  in  which  the  passing  reader  might  have  described 
only  the  influence  of  sincere  and  dispassionate  friendship, 
though  through  them  ran  a  subtle  undercurrent  of 
deeper  feeling.  To  these  letters  Genie  had  sent,  at  in 
tervals,  discreet  and  appropriate  answers,  not  one  word 
of  which  gave  the  remotest  insight  into  the  heart  of  the 
writer. 

From  this  correspondence  she  had  learned  that  the 
first  year  of  De  Rousillon's  exile  had  been  divided 
between  Russia  and  England  in  the  study  and  close 
observation  of  the  institutions  of  those  great  nations. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  second  year,  he  had  gone 
for  similar  reasons  to  Italy,  been  accidentally  invited  to 
"Miramar,"  and  involved  in  some  almost  inexplicable 
way  in  the  fortunes  of  Maximilian,  with  whom  he  had 
gone  to  Mexico. 

It  was  one  of  those  instances  of  strong  personal 
affinity  or  fascination  which  usually  terminate  in  coali 
tion  of  some  sort.  With  persons  of  opposite  sexes,  in 
liaisons  or  marriages;  with  those  of  the  same  sex,  in 
romantic  and  devoted  friendships.  The  boyish,  confiding 
nature  of  Maximilian  found  strength  and  refuge  in  the 
cool,  calm  disinterestedness  of  DC  liousilloii,  who  vainly 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  395 

dissuaded  him,  however,  from  the  step  that  wrecked  his 
fortunes. 

It  was  a  case  of  sheer  infatuation.  The  magnetism  of 
Napoleon,  more  potent  than  his  own,  had  possession  of 
the  prince,  and,  as  he  could  not  avert  his  doom,  De 
Rousillon  determined  to  share  it  with  him,  and  at  least 
endeavor  to  ameliorate  its  fatality. 

These  men  had  met  as  boys  at  a  public  school  in  Ger 
many,  and  knew  each  other's  qualities,  as  those  only  who 
commence  life  together  can  know  the  true  nature  of 
mutual  souls.  There  was  something  in  this  Mexican 
enterprise  that  enlisted  all  the  romance  of  both,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Emperor's 
character,  De  Rousillon  might  have  been  as  confident  of 
success  as  •Maximilian.  As  it  was  he  mistrusted  the 
affair  from  the  beginning.  But  life  to  him  possessed  at 
the  time  no  serious  interest  or  especial  purpose,  and  mis 
fortune  in  his  case  meant  only  loss  of  time  and  money. 
For  Maximilian  there  remained  as  resources  the  inalien 
able  estate  of  his  wife,  and  Miramar  as  a  refuge  for 
disappointed  ambition — a  paradise  that  might  almost 
reconcile  him,  De  Rousillon  thought,  to  Mexican  re 
pudiation.  For  nothing  more  dire  than  this  condition 
of  things  ever  loomed  before  the  imagination  of  either. 
The  time  was  over  for  bloody  retaliation — both  thought 
— and  the  lids  of  history  had  closed  forever  on  the  fate 
of  Iturbide — or  its  possible  repetition. 

"  We  may  be  coming  back  in  a  few  years,  poorer  than 
we  went,"  said  Maximilian,  in  answer  to  his  friend's 
remonstrances.  "  In  the  meantime,  the  Emperor's  strong 
hand  will  sustain  us  in  our  position — however  untenable 
it  may  prove  ultimately.  To  found  a  new  empire  is 


396  A    DOUBLE    WEDDING;   OR, 

surely  worth  an  effort,  and  if  I  succeed,  De  Rousillon, 
high  honors  await  my  friends." 

Apart  from  its  results,  enterprise  is  in  itself  attractive 
and  life-giving  to  all  fresh,  energetic,  and  active  natures. 
A  new  existence  opened  before  these  young  and  energetic 
men  and  those  who  shared  their  views,  and  armed  with 
all  high  intentions  and  resolutions  they  set  sail  for  the 
lovely  land  of  Moutezuma. 

One  year's  sojourn  in  Mexico  had  convinced  De  Rou 
sillon  of  what  he  feared  from  the  first — the  pusillanimity 
of  the  Emperor ;  and  his  last  letter  to  Genie  announced 
his  intention  of  returning  to  France  (his  term  of  exile 
being  completed)  as  a  private  envoy  from  Maximilian  to 
solicit  aid  from  Napoleon.  It  was  a  desperate  alter 
native,  and  failure  was  the  consequence. 

De  Rousillon,  after  a  long  interview  with  "  the  gray- 
eyed  man  of  fate,"  left  him  convinced  of  two  things — 
one  that  he  was  an  unmitigated  scoundrel,  a  gambler, 
spending  the  resources  of  the  nation,  his  wealthy  bride, 
in  order  to  gratify  his  own  tastes  and  passions  alone, 
while  he  deceived  her  into  the  belief  in  his  powers  and 
capacity  by  gifts  from  her  own  half-exhausted  coffers; 
another,  that  he  was  a  shallow  conjurer  and  coward,  afraid 
of  the  spirits  his  own  wand  had  raised  from  the  vasty 
deep. 

"  No  blood  of  the  Corsican  flows  in  his  stagnant  veins," 
muttered  De  Rousillon,  as  he  left  the  Imperial  presence. 
"  He  is  an  impostor  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  and  his 
own  acts  will  yet  proclaim  him  so,  veil  them  now  as  he 
may,  under  a  mantle  of  fraud  and  dissimulation.  Oh  ! 
my  country,  dearer  than  life  to  me,  would  I  could  aid 
thec  to  shake  off  this  incubus." 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  397 

A  closer  insight  into  the  Mexican  nature  convinced  De 
Rousillon  that  In  case  of  Maximilian's  failure  to  hold  his 
throne,  and  the  triumph  of  Juarez,  measures  unknown  to 
European  powers  might  be  resorted  to  in  that  half-civil 
ized  land — imprisonment  in  mines  for  life,  or  general 
massacre. 

These  convictions  had  he  feelingly  represented  to  Louis 
^Napoleon,  without  eliciting  from  him  one  word  or  glance 
of  sympathy.  The  Emperor  was  too  politic  to  avow  his 
powerlessness  to  sustain  the  victim  of  his  own  rapacity 
in  the  false  position  he  had  assigned  him,  and  in  placing 
his  refusal  on  the  ground  of  expediency  alone  he  out 
raged  every  feeling  of  De  Rousillon's  nature.  A  stormy 
scene  was  the  consequence,  which  ended  with  a  cold  but 
polite  request  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign  that  his  subject 
might  prolong  his  exile  indefinitely,  commanding  him  in 
furtherance  of  this  plan  to  sell  his  estates  and  bear  away 
the  results  of  such  sudden  sales,  on  pain  of  confiscation. 

"  My  estates  will  remain  intact  when  yours  are  gone," 
said  De  Rousillon  defiantly  as  they  parted.  Hastening 
to  the  bank  he  drew  out  all  of  his  available  funds,  but 
made  no  effort,  then  or  thereafter,  to  dispose  of  his  real 
estate,  which  he  abandoned  to  its  fate. 

A  man  in  authority,  whom  he  had  served  signally, 
came  to  him  at  midnight  at  his  hotel  to  apprise  him  that 
an  order  would  be  issued  the  next  day  for  his  arrest.  "  In 
which  case,"  he  added,  "  you  will  form  one  of  the  island 
colony,  De  Rousillon,  the  Emperor  is  so  fond  of  increas 
ing  lately." 

Before  the  dawn  of  the  next  day,  yet  not  a  moment 
too  soon  to  avoid  the  officers  in  pursuit  of  him,  De  Rou 
sillon  had  left  Paris  for  Marseilles,  where  his  mother  sue- 


398  A   DOUBLE    WEDDING;    OR, 

ceeded  in  concealing  him  until  the  search  was  abandoned 
as  hopeless;  and  in  the  guise  of  a  sailor,  by  connivance 
•with  the  captain,  he  left  France  for  the  port  of  New 
York  in  a  merchant  vessel.  He  had  another  mission  to 
fulfil  for  Maximilian  that  took  him  to  Washington, 
whither  he  proceeded  immediately  on  his  arrival  in  the 
United  States ;  a  mission  that  proved  as  fruitless  as  the 
first,  but  the  chief  magnet  that  drew  him  to  America 
was  Genie  Montrose.  This  he  acknowledged  to  himself, 
on  the  way  over,  for  from  the  first  he  had  been  hopeless 
of  aid  from  Andrew  Johnson,  and  had  he  acted  judi 
ciously  he  felt  that  he  would  have  avoided  rather  than 
sought  his  countenance;  that  Janus  face,  that  beamed 
alike  on  two  opposing  parties,  assisting  neither. 

He  did  not  announce  his  advent  to  Genie,  fearing  that 
the  old  superstition  might  still  be  paramount,  and  that 
she  might  consider  it  due  to  her  hasty  vow  to  refuse  him 
an  interview.  Having  made  himself  acquainted  by  report 
with  the  vicinity,  and  possessing  an  excellent  "  eye  for 
country,"  he  landed  at  "Sand-piper"  in  the  little  "Blue- 
wing"  packet  that  still  plied  its  old  trade  between  Balti 
more  and  the  Bay  settlement,  and  took  lodgings  in  the 
hostelry,  rather  than  hotel,  of  that  village. 

It  was  here  that  M.  Rochambeau,  the  Rosolio  of  our 
story,  had  once  awaited  the  motions  of  "the  Countess 
Cluche"  in  that  strange  escapade  of  hers,  which  ended 
so  fortunately  for  all  concerned.  Dr.  Mandamus  from 
his  gig  noticed  the  handsome  stranger  en  passant  as  he 
paced  the  beach  abstractedly,  and  formed  his  own  conclu 
sions. 

"  Some  army  friend  of  Major  Ravenshaw,"  he  thought, 
"  perhaps  one  of  the  Orleans  princes.  He  certainly  has 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  399 

a  very  distinguished  air,  and  is  evidently  a  foreigner — 
or,  who  knows,  may  be  one  of  Genie's  French  lovers. 
Her  mother  tells  me  she  might  have  had  a  score." 

This  conjecture  was  somewhat  strengthened  when  the 
stranger  courteously  waved  his  hand  to  the  occupant  of 
the  buggy,  which  happened  to  be  going  just  then  at  snail's 
pace,  and  which  was  checked  at  once  in  obedience  to  his 
signal. 

"  Can  you  tell  me,"  asked  De  Rousillon,  removing  his 
hat  and  bowing  respectfully,  yet  somewhat  as  if  the 
respect  was  more  for  himself  than  the  object  of  his  sal 
utation,  "  the  shortest  way  for  a  foot-passenger  to  the 
residence  of  Madame  Eavenshaw  ?  I  desire  to  call  on 
the  family." 

"  Just  get  in  with  me  then,"  said  the  doctor  cordially. 
"  I  am  on  my  way  to  see  Major  Ravenshaw,  who  is  more 
or  less  out  of  health  just  now,  owing  to  his  wound.  It 
is  a  long  walk  through  the  sun,  cut  it  off  as  you  may." 

Without  hesitation  the  offer  was  accepted,  and  before 
his  arrival  at  Birk-braes  the  stranger  had  possessed  him 
self  of  the  fact  he  principally  wished  to  master — "  Genie 
was  at  home,  well  and  almost  a  recluse,  such  was  her 
devotion  to  her  boy,"  the  doctor  added. 

"And  here  he  is,  with  his  nurse,  the  little  scamp,  busy 
gathering  late  blackberries,  and  as  usual,  bareheaded  in 
spite  of  care  and  counsel." 

The  child  was  a  picture  of  half-infantile,  half-boyish 
strength  and  beauty  as  he  stood  before  them,  for  the 
doctor  drew  up  his  horse  to  stoop  and  pat  his  golden 
head.  • 

"Where  is  his  hat,  Maggie?"  he  asked;  "you  know 
how  particular  his  mother  is  that  he  should  keep  his 


400  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

head  covered,  and  my  directions."  He  was  interrupted 
by  the  nurse. 

"  He  threw  it  in  the  burn  as  we  passed  by,  and  before 
I  could  take  notice,  I  picked  it  up,  and  here  it  is,  as  limp 
as  wet  paper,"  lifting  the  dripping  straw  flat  before  the 
physician's  eyes. 

"  It's  himself  that  is  always  playing  the  sly  tricks." 

"A  difficult  colt  to  rein,  hey,  Maggie  ?  Get  up,  you 
bareheaded  barbarian,  and  let  me  take  you  home  to  your 
mother;  but  who  are  you  staring  at  so  earnestly?" 

"My  papa!"  cried  the  child,  eagerly  stretching  out 
his  arms  to  De  Rousillon.  "  My  dear  papa,  come  from 
the  'Rondelles  to  make  me  another  windmill!  Yes, 
you  are  my  papa!"  clinging  closely  to  De  Rousillon; 
u  you  told  me  so  one  day  when  my  mamma  wasn't  there. 
My  papa  come  back  from  heaven  to  stay  with  us." 

"  You  have  known  the  child  before  ? "  said  the  doctor, 
maliciously ;  "  that  is  certain ;  yet  what  a  memory  he 
seems  to  have." 

"  For  reasons  of  my  own,"  said  De  Rousillon,  smiling, 
yet  not  without  embarrassment,  "  I  at  one  time  concili 
ated  this  child,  with  no  little  pains  and  interest  as  to  the 
result.  It  was  his  odd  fancy  to  consider  himself  in 
jured  because  he  had  no  father  like  other  boys  of  his 
acquaintance;  and  on  one  occasion  I  gravely  proposed 
that  he  should  adopt  me  without  any  assurance  of  the 
kind  he  affixed,  however;  though  certainly  I  did  fall 
from  heaven  about  that  time." 

No  further  explanation  was  afforded  the  inquisitive,  or 
rather  interested,  doctor,  keenly  alive  to  all  that  con 
cerned  Genie  and  her  mother.  But  the  child  prattled 
on  about  his  panoramic  glimpses  of  the  past  —  now 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  401 

vividly  recalled  by  the  presence  of  one  he  had  known 
and  loved  at  "  Les  Hirondelles." 

As  they  approached  the  gate  of  entrance,  two  noble  St. 
Bernard  dogs  bounded  to  meet  the  buggy,  with  mani 
festations  of  delight.  Seeing  the  doctor  about  to  dis 
mount  to  unfasten  the  staples  that  held  the  iron  lever  of 
the  portal  together,  and  excluded  four-footed  intruders, 
De  Rousillon  sprang  to  the  ground  to  anticipate  him. 

"As  yours  is  a  professional  call,  I  will  not  impose  my 
company  on  you  further,  Dr.  Mandamus  (for  such,  I 
believe,  was  the  name  by  which  our  little  friend  accosted 
you),  but,  taking  him  'by  the  hand,  walk  to  the  door  of 
entrance,  Avhence  he  can  be  my  embassador  to  the  powers 
within  !  I  own  I  am  not  quite  certain  of  my  reception  !" 
he  added,  while  a  boyish  glow  overspread  his  fine  fea 
tures  .and  clear  cheek  and  forehead.  Then,  before  the 
doctor  could  remonstrate,  with  a  bow  and  murmur  of 
"  thanks,"  he  turned  into  the  serpentine  path  that  formed 
the  footway  to  the  front  entrance  of  Birk -braes,  leaving 
the  buggy  to  pursue  the  circular  road ;  the  boy  springing 
after  him,  caught  the  hand  that  was  stretched  out  behind 
for  him  to  grasp,  and  Maggie  in  the  distance,  breathless 
from  her  effort  to  overtake  the  buggy,  saw  them  vanish 
through  the  shrubbery  together. 

The  dogs  had  from  the  first  bounded  in  front  of  the 
visitor  and  his  little  charge,  as  if  to  lead  the  way,  and 
De  Rousillon  could  but  feel  it  a  good  omen  that  they  had 
met  him  in  so  friendly  a  spirit.  "  The  Roman  augurs 
judged  of  the  prosperity  of  a  deed  from  the  flight  of 
crows,"  he  reasoned ;  "  why  not  a  modern  soothsayer 
from  the  greetings  of  dogs?"  Let  me  here  assure  my 
reader  that  De  Rousillon  spoke  English  with  the  rare 
25 


402  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

perfection  and  still  slight  accent  of  a  highly-educated 
foreigner,  both  of  which  lend  an  unidiomate  and  indi 
vidual  grace  to  the  language  that  possesses  a  rare  charm 
for  the  ear  of  culture — a  charm  altogether  indescribable. 

"  We  are  most  there,"  said  the  child,  "  and  I  am  so 
glad  Maggy  did  not  catch  up  to  us,  with  the  wet  hat. 
My  mamma  always  puts  up  her  hand  to  her  eyes  when  I 
don't  mind  her,  and  it  makes  me  feel  so  bad — badder 
than  when  my  auntie  scolds  me ! " 

"  Who  is  your  auntie,  my  boy  ?  Your  uncle  Ruffin's 
wife?  I  heard  he  was  to  be  married  soon  to  a  lady 
living  near  Birk-braes.  It  seems  that  I  am  not  in  time 
for  the  wedding,  then  ?  " 

"Oh,  no !  Major  Ravenshaw's  wife — that  is  iny  auntie 
— and  I  have  two  little  bits  of  uncles,  too,  her  sons. 
Oh,  they  plague  me  so ! "  with  a  deep  sigh  of  infant 
martyrdom.  "  I  wish,  I  wish  I  was  at  the  'Rondel les 
again  with  you  and  Mazeron  and  Marie!  Don't  you 
'member  that  kite  you  made  me  shaped  like  an  eagle 
bird  ?  Can  you  make  me  another  and  a  windmill  ?  Oh  ! 
there  is  my  mamma  waiting  for  me,  walking  on  the 
umbra ! "  and  without  waiting  for  an  answer  to  his  ques 
tions,  the  child,  detaching  his  hand  hastily  from  that  of 
his  companion,  darted  toward  his  mother,  who  stood 
gazing  from  the  balustrade  in  an  opposite  direction,  and 
who  had  not  observed  his  approach,  with  the  joyous  cry  : 

"  My  papa  has  come,  what  we  left  at  the  '  Rondelles ! 
My  papa  has  come  back  from  heaven  again.  Come  and 
see  him,  mamma !  " 

De  Rousillon,  who  had  followed  the  lead  of  the  boy, 
had,  with  the  habitual  grace  of  high  breeding,  taken  off 
his  hat,  half  unconsciously,  as  he  found  himself  in  a 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  403 

lady's  presence,  but  he  was  the  veriest  coward  that  day. 
He  advanced  with  a  blanched  cheek  and  beating  heart. 
Emotion  held  him  speechless,  and  his  nerveless  hand 
forgot  to  do  its  duty  as  it  never  had  done  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight. 

As  Genie  turned  on  him  her  soulful  eyes,  the  som 
brero  dropped  from  his  hand,  and  he  stood  rooted  to  the 
floor  of  the  umbra. 

With  a  little  shriek,  she  fled  toward  him,  paused, 
folded  her  hands  upon  her  bosom,  extended  them  again, 
clasped  them  once  more  together,  and  stood  with  her  eyes 
riveted  on  the  tesselated  pavement,  waiting  for  him  to 
approach. 

Fresh  courage  possessed  him,  all  of  his  old  impetu 
osity  returned  to  his  support,  and  in  another  moment  he 
held  her  in  his  arms. 

" Genie !""De  Rousillon ! "— and  this  was  all  that 
told  the  story  of  their  tried  and  faithful  love. 

The  child  stood  apart,  wondering,  yet  convinced  that 
now,  indeed,  his  papa  was  restored  to  him,  and  came  at 
last  to  add  his  caresses  to  their  own.  It  was  a  brief 
love-scene,  but  very  conclusive. 

Little  remains  to  be  told. 

The  opening  scene  of  this  story  occurred  on  the 
"  umbra  " — the  last  act  closes  there — of  Genie's  melo 
drama. 

She  was  married  a  few  weeks  later,  at  the  same  time 
that  her  brother  espoused  her  friend,  to  the  man  of  her 
heart,  who  was,  however,  by  his  sense  of  loyalty,  com 
pelled  to  return  for  a  season  to  the  service  of  Maximil 
ian.  In  the  uncertain  condition  of  Mexico  he  would  not 
hazard  the  presence  of  Genie  and  her  son,  from  whom 


404  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING;     OR, 

she  refused  to  be  separated.  He  had,  too,  his  misgivings 
about  Napoleon's  intentions  with  regard  to  his  own  per 
son,  and  time  proved  the  correctness  of  this  estimate. 

Maximilian's  refusal  to  surrender  De  Rousillon,  in 
compliance  with  his  demand,  incensed  the  French 
Emperor,  and  added  to  the  trials  of  the  unfortunate 
Prince  he  had  led  into  a  snare,  to  be  abandoned  to  the 
mercy  of  his  foes.  Matters  were  rapidly  culminating 
in  Mexico.  The  unfortunate  Empress  was  sent  away  by 
the  advice  of  those  who  foresaw  the  end,  and  her  reason 
was  the  price  of  her  bitter  disappointment  and  fruitless 
errand  to  the  marble  Emperor,  which  formed  the  osten 
sible  motive  of  her  voyage. 

With  the  heroic  self-abnegation,  peculiar  to  her  organ 
ization,  Genie  saw  and  approved  the  course  her  husband 
was  pursuing.  His  honor  was  as  dear  to  her  as  her  own 
life,  and  she  knew  that  it  was  at  stake  when  the  question 
became  one  of  truth  and  fidelity — opposed  to  safety  and 
perfidy. 

To  the  last  moment  of  that  awful  tragedy  De  Rou 
sillon  held  his  post  near  the  person  of  Maximilian,  and 
craved  no  better  fate  than  that  of  his  Emperor.  For  a 
few  weeks  of  unutterable  anguish  after  the  death  of 
Maximilian  had  been  made  known  throughout  the  land, 
Genie  remained  under  the  terrible  apprehension  that  her 
husband  had  shared  his  doom. 

At  last  he  wrote  to  her  from  the  prison  in  which,  with 
other  faithful  adherents  of  the  Emperor,  he  had  been 
cast  by  Juarez,  and  implored  her  to  be  calm,  and  to  pre 
pare  herself  for  any  event  that  might  occur.  He  had 
abandoned  hope  and  yet  refrained  from  telling  her  this, 
conjuring  her  to  patience  and  to  prayer,  for  in  that  ter- 


HOW     SHE     WAS     WON.  405 

rible  mine-immurement,  shut  out  from  the  light  of  day 
and  the  face  of  civilized  man,  a  divine  ray  had  pene 
trated  to  the  depths  of  his  soul,  and  the  jewel  of  faith 
shone  resplendent  through  the  gloom. 

Suddenly  released  at  last  with  the  few  companions 
of  his  imprisonment  who  survived  the  hardships  of  their 
condition,  he  came  at  once  to  Birk-braes,  and  in  person 
relieved  the  preying  anxiety  of  his  wife. 

Imagination  only  can  depict  that  meeting.  He  recu 
perated  rapidly  in  that  atmosphere  of  perfect  happiness, 
and  won  golden  opinions  from  all  who  came  to  know  him 
and  understand  his  high  nature. 

His  mother  in  the  interval  had  died,  and  a  portion  of 
her  large  fortune  was  remitted  to  him  by  his  brothers, 
to  whom  the  whole  had  been  awarded  by  the  crown,  as 
he  was  an  exile  attainted  with  treason,  or  rather,  if  the 
truth  had  been  told,  simply  with  "  lese  majeste." 

After  a  brief  residence  in  Baltimore,  which  he  selected 
as  his  temporary  home,  the  news  of  Napoleon's  declara 
tion  of  war  against  Germany  reached  the  United  States, 
and  in  rapid  succession  came  reports  of  the  movements 
of  the  French  army,  its  defeat,  and  the  Emperor's 
capture. 

In  consequence  of  this  last  event,  De  Rousillon  re 
turned  to  France,  taking  Genie  with  him  at  her  earnest 
solicitation.  Until  matters  should  be  decided  he  placed 
her  with  her  son,  almost  his  own  by  the  ties  of  affection 
and  duty,  in  the  hands  of  their  friends  at  Les  Hiron- 
delles. 

Through  all  the  stormy  periods  that  succeeded  the 
downfall  of  the  Empire,  De  Rousillon  remained  chiefly 
in  Paris,  aiding  by  his  coolness,  his  wisdom,  and  his 


406  A     DOUBLE     WEDDING. 

courage,  the  counsels  of  those  who  sustained  France 
through  her  hour  of  trial. 

He  was  present  at  the  capital  during  all  the  horrors 
of  the  German  siege,  and  gave  freely  from  his  treasures 
to  aid  his  suffering  country.  He  is  rewarded  by  the 
universal  reverence  which  his  name  inspires  wherever 
it  is  spoken. 

Asking  nothing  for  himself,  and  having  reserved 
little  more  than  a  competency  for  his  family,  he  has 
returned  to  reside  at  "  Lcs  Bocages,"  where  with  his  true 
helpmate  and  their  children  he  passes  a  rational,  con 
tented,  and  exalted  life. 


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How  He  Won  Her, $1  75 

Fair  Play, 1  75 

The  Spectre  Lover 1  75 

Victor's  Triumph 1  75 

A  Beautiful  Fiend, 1  75 

Ths  Artist's  Love, 1   75 

A  Noble  Lord, 1  75 

Lost  Heir  of  Linlithgow, 1  75 

Tried  for  her  Life, 1  75 

Cruel  as  the  Grave, 1  75 

The  Maiden  AVidow, 1  75 

The  Family  Doom, 1  75 

The  Bride's  Fate, 1  75 

The  Changed  Brides, 1  75 

Fallen  Pride, 1  75 

The  Christinas  Guest, 1  75 

The  Widow's  Son 1  75 

The  Bride  of  Llewellyn, 1  75 

The  Fortune  Seeker, 1  75 


The  Fatal  Mnrriage, ,$1   75 

The  Deserted  Wife, 1  75 

The  Bridal  Eve 1  75 

The  Lost  Heiress, 1  75 

The  Two  Sisters, 1   75 

Lady  of  the  Isle, 1  75 

Prince  of  Darkness, 1  75 

The  Three  Beauties, 1  75 

Vivia  :  or  the  Secret  of  Power,  1   75 

Love's  Labor  Won, ]   75 

The  Gipsy's  Prophecy, 1  75 

Haunted  Homestead, 1  75 

Wife's  Victory, 1  75 

Allworth  Abbey 1   75 


The  Mother-in-Law, 1   75 

Retribution, 1  75 

India ;   Pearl  of  Pearl  River,..  1   75 

Curse  of  Clifton, 1  75 

Discarded  Daughter, 1  75 


The  Missing  Bride;  or,  Miriam,  the  Avenger 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

MRS.  ANN  S.  STEPHENS'  WORKS. 

Complete  in  Iwnhi-firm  large  duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  mororco  cloth,  gilt  bar 
price  $1.75  each  ;  or  $oS.5U  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


Bertha's  Engagement, $1  75 

Bollehood  and  Bondage, 1  75 

The  Old  Countess, 1  75 

Lord  Hope's  Choice, 1  75 

The  Reigning  Belle, 1  75 

A  Xoble  Woman, 1  75 

P:i laces  and  Prisons, 1  75 

Married  in  Haste 1   75 

Wives  and  Widows, 1  75 

Ruby  Gray's  Strategy, 1  75 

Doubly   False, 1    75 


The  Soldiers'  Orphans, $1  75 

Silent  Struggles,. 


The  Rejected  Wife, 1  75 

The  Wife's  Secret, 1  75 

Mary  Derwont, 1  75 

Fashion  and  Famine, 1   75 

The  Curse  of  Gold, 1  75 

Mabel's  Mistake, 1  75 

The  Old  Homestead, 1   75 

The  Heiress, 1   75 

The  Gold   Brick, 1   75 


Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

MBS.  C.  A.  WARFIELD'S  WORKS. 

A  Double  Wedding:  or.  How  She  was  Won,  morocco  cloth, $1    75 

Tho  Household  of  Bouvorie  j  or,  The  Elixir  of  Gold,  morocco  cloth,  1  75 


l£# "  Above  Books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  (1) 


2    T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 
MRS.   CAROLINE  LEE  HENTZ'S  WORKS. 

Green   and  Gold   Edition.      Complete,   in  twelve  volumes,  in  green   morocco  cloth, 
price  $1.76  each;  or  $21.00  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


Ernest  Linwood, $1  75 

The  Planter's  Northern  Bride,..  1  75 

Courtship  and  Marriage, 1  75 

Rena;  or,  the  Snow  Bird, 1  75 

Marcus  Warland,...  ..   1  75 


Love  after  Marriage, $1  75 

Eoline;  or  Magnolia  Vale, 1  75 

The  Lost  Daughter, 1  75 

The  Banished  Son, 1  75 

Helen  and  Arthur, 1  75 


Linda;  or,  the  Young  Pilot  of  the  Belle  Creole, 1  75 

Robert  Graham;  the  Sequel  to  "Linda;  or  Pilot  of  Belle  Creole,"...   1  75 
Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

BEST  COOK  BOOKS  PUBLISHED. 

Every  housekeeper  should  possess  at  least  one  of  the  following  Cook  Books,  as  they 
would  save  the  price  of  it  in  a  week's  cooking. 

The  Queen  of  the  Kitchen.     Containing  1007  Old  Maryland 

Family  Receipts  for  Cooking, Cloth,   $1  75 

Miss  Leslie's  New  Cookery  Book, Cloth,      1  75 

Mrs.  Kale's  New  Cook  Book, Cloth,     1  75 

Petersons'  New  Cook  Book Cloth,     1  75 

Widdifield's  New  Cook  Book, Cloth,     1  75 

Mrs.  Qoodfellow's  Cookery  as  it  Should  Be, Cloth,     1  75 

The  National  Cook  Book.     By  a  Practical  Housewife, Cloth,     1  75 

The  Young  Wife's  Cook  Book, Cloth,     1  75 

Miss  Leslie's  New  Receipts  for  Cooking, Cloth,     1  75 

Mrs.  Hale's  Receipts  for  the  Million, Cloth,     1  75 

The  Family  Save-All.    By  author  of  "National  Cook  Book,"  Cloth,     .1  75 
Francatelli's  Modern  Cook.     With  the    most  approved   methods   of 
French,  English,  German,  and  Italian  Cookery.     With  Sixty-two 

Illustrations.     One  volume  of  600  pages,  bound  in  morocco  cloth,  5  00 

JAMES  A.  MAITLAND'S  WORKS. 

Complete  in  seven  large  duodecimo   volumes,  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  Lack,  price  $1.75 
each  ;  or  $12.25  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


The  Watchman, $1   75 

The  Wanderer, 1  75 

The  Lawyer's  Story, 1   75 


Diary  of  an  Old  Doctor, $1  75 

Sartaroe, 1  75 

The  Three  Cousins, 1  75 


The  Old  Patroon  ;  or  the  Great  Van  Broek  Property, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

T.  ADOLPHUS  TROLLOPE'S   WORKS. 

Complete  in  seven  large   duodecimo  volume*,  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  back,  price  $1.75 
each;  or  $12.25  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


The  Sealed  Packet, $1  75 

Garstang  Grange, 1  75 


Dream  Numbers, $1  75 

Beppo,  the  Conscript, 1  75 


Leonora  Casaloni,...  1  75  |  Gemma 1  75  |  Marietta, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

FREDRIKA  BREMER'S  WORKS. 

Complete  in  six  large  duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  back,  price  $1.75  each ; 
or  $10.50  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 

Father  and  Daughter, $1  75    The  Neighbors, $1  75 

The  Four  Sisters, 1  75    The  Home, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  pnper  cover,  at  $1.50  ench. 
Life  in  the  Old  AVorld.     In  two  volumes,  cloth,  price, 3  50 

gaT  Above  Books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.    3 
MISS  ELIZA  A.  DUPUY'S  WORKS. 

Complete  in  thirteen  large,  duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  morocco  cloth,  gilt  back,  price 
$1.75  each;  or  $22.75  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 

The  Discarded  Wife, $1  75 

The  Clandestine  Marriage, 1  75 

The  Hidden  Sin, 1   75 

The  Dethroned  Heiress, 1  75 

The  Gipsy's  Warning, 1  75 

All  For  Love, 1 


Why  Did  He  Marry  Her? $1  75 

Who  Shall  be  Victor? 1  75 

The  Mysterious  Guest, 1  75 

Was  He  Guilty? 1  75 

The  Cancelled  Will, 1  75 

The  Planter's  Daughter, 1  75 


Michael  Rudolph;  or,  the  Bravest  of  the  Brave, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

EMERSON  BENNETT'S  WORKS. 

Complete  in  seven  large   duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  back,  price  $1.75 
each  ;  or  $12.25  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


The  Border  Rover, $1  75 

Clara  Moreland, 1  75 

The  Orphan's  Trials, 1  75 


Bride  of  the  Wilderness, $1  75 

Ellen  Norbury, 1  75 

Kute  Clarendon, 1  75 


Viola:  or  Adventures  in  the  Far  South-West, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 
t  The  Heiress  of  Bellefonte, 75  |  The  Pioneer's  Daughter, 75 

DOESTICKS'  WORKS. 

Complete  in  four-  large  duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  cloth,  gilt  back,  price  $1.75 
each ;  or  $7.00  a  set,  each  net  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 

Doesticks'  Letters, $1  75  I  The  Elephant  Club, $1  75 

Plu-Ri-Bus-Tah, 1  75  |  Witches  of  New  York, 1   75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

GREEN'S  WORKS  ON  GAMBLING. 

Complete  in  four  large  duodecimo   volumes,  bound   in  cloth,  gilt  back,  price  $1.75 
each;  or  $7.00  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 

Gambling  Exposed, $1  75  i  Reformed   Gambler, $1   75 

The  Gambler's  Life, 1  75  |  Secret  Band  of  Brothers, 1  75 

Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

DOW'S  PATENT  SERMONS. 

Complete  in  four  large  duodecimo  volumes,  bound  in  cloth,   gilt  back,  price   $1.50 
each  ;  or  $6.00  a  set,  each  set  is  put  up  in  a  neat  box. 


Dow's  Patent  Sermons,  1st 
Series,  cloth, $1  50 

Dow's  Patent  Sermons,  2d 

Series,  cloth 1  50 


Dow's  Patent  Sermons,  3d 
Series,  cloth, $1  50 

Dow's  Patent  Sermons,  4th 
Series,  cloth 1  50 


Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.00  each. 

WILKIE  COLLINS'  BEST  WORKS. 

Basil;  or,  The  Crossed  Path..$l  50  |  The  Dead  Secret.     12mo $1  50 

Above  are  each  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume,  bound  in  cloth. 


The  Dead  Secret,  8vo 50 

Basil;  or,  the  Crossed  Path, 75 


Hide  and  Seek, 75 

After  Dark, 75 


The  Queen's  Revenge, 75 

Miss  or  Mrs? ..  60 


Mad  Monkton, 50 

Sights  a-Foot, 50 


The  Stolen  Mask, 25  |  The  Yellow  Mask,...  25  |  Sister  Rose,...  25 

The  above  books  are  each  issued  in  paper  cover,  in  octavo  form. 

FRANK  FORRESTER'S  SPORTING  BOOK. 

Frank  Forrester's  Sporting  Scenes  and  Characters.     By  Henry  Wil 
liam  Herbert.     With  Illustrations  by  Darley.     Two  vols.,  cloth,...$4  00 

gg"  Above  Books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


4    T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


BOOKS  FOR  PRIVATE  STUDY  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  Lawrence  Speaker.  A  Selection  of  Literary  Gems  in  Poetry  and 
Prose,  designed  for  the  use  of  Colleges,  Schools,  Seminaries,  Literary 
Societies.  By  Philip  Lawrence,  Professor  of  Elocution.  600  pages. .$2  00 

Cotnstock's  Elocution  and  Model  Speaker.  Intended  for  the  use  of 
Schools,  Colleges,  and  for  private  Study,  for  the  Promotion  of 
Health,  Cure  of  Stammering,  and  Defective  Articulation.  By  An 
drew  Comstock  and  Philip  Lawrence.  With  236  Illustrations 2  00 

The  French,  German,  Spanish,  Latin  and  Italian  Languages  Without 
a  Master.  Whereby  any  one  of  these  Languages  can  be  learned 
without  a  Teacher.  By  A.  H.  Monteith.  One  volume,  cloth 2  00 

Comstock's  Colored  Chart.  Being  a  perfect  Alphabet  of  the  Eng 
lish  Language,  Graphic  and  Typic,  with  exercises  in  Pitch,  Force 
and  Gesture,  and  Sixty-Eight  colored  figures,  representing  the  va 
rious  postures  and  different  attitudes  to  be  used  in  declamation. 
On  a  large  Roller.  Every  School  should  have  a  copy  of  it, 5  00 

Liebig's  Complete  Works  on  Chemistry.     By  Baron  Justus  Liebig...  2  00 

WORKS  BY  THE  VERY  BEST   AUTHORS. 

The  following  books  are  each    issued    in    one  large,    duodecimo  volume, 
bound  in  cloth,  at  $1.75  each,  or  each  one  is  inpaper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

The  Initials.     A  Love  Story.      By  Baroness  Tautphceus,...- $1   75 

The  Autobiography  of  Edward  Wortley  Montagu, ...   1  75 

Margaret  Maitland.     By  Mrs.  Oliphant,  author  of  "Zaidee," 1  75 

Family  Pride.     By  author  of  ''  Pique,"  "  Family  Secrets,"  etc 1  75 

Self-Sacrifice.     By  author  of  "  Margaret  Maitlnnd,"  etc 1  75 

The  Woman  in  Black.     A  Companion  to  the  "Woman  in  White,"...  1  75 

A  Woman's  Thoughts  about  Women.      By  Miss  Mulocb, 1  75 

Flirtations  in  Fashionable  Life.     By  Catharine  Sinclair, 1  75 

False  Pride;  or,  Two  Ways  to  Matrimony.     A  Charming  Book, 1  75 

The  Heiress  in  the  Family.     By  Mrs.  Mackenzie  Daniel,. 1  75 

Popery  Exposed.     An  Exposition  of  Popery  as  it  was  and  is, 1  75 

The  Heiress  of  Sweetwater.     A  Charming  Novel, 1  75 

Woman's  Wrong.     By  Mrs.  Eiloart,  author  of  "St.  Bede's," 1  75 

A  Lonely  Life.    By  the  author  of  "  Wise  as  a  Serpent,"  etc 1  75 

The  Macdermots  of  Ballycloran.     By  Anthony  Trollope, 1  75 

Lost  Sir  Massingberd.     By  the  author  of  "  Carlyon's  Year," 1  75 

The  Forsaken  Daughter.     A  Companion  to  "Linda," 1  75 

Love  and  Liberty.  A  Revolutionary  Story.  By  Alexander  Dumas,  1  75 
Rose  Douglas.  A  Companion  to  "  Family  Pride,"  and  "  Self  Sacrifice,"  1  75 
Family  Secrets.  A  Companion  to  "Family  Pride,"  and  "Pique,"...  1  75 

The  Morrisons.     By  Mrs.  Margaret  Hosmer, 1  75 

My  Son's  Wife.     By  author  of  "Caste,"  "Mr.  Arle,"  etc 1  75 

The  Rich  Husband.     By  author  of  "  George  Geith," 1  75 

Harem  Life  in  Egypt  and  Constantinople.     By  Emmeline  Lott, 1  75 

The  Rector's  Wife;  or,  the  Valley  of  a  Hundred  Fires, 1  75 

Woodburn  Grange.     A  Novel.     By  William  Howitt, 1  75 

Country  Quarters.     By  the  Countess  of  Blessington 1  75 

Out  of  the  Depths.     The  Story  of  a  "Woman's  Life," 1   75 

The  Coquette;  or,  the  Life  and  Letters  of  Eliza  Whnrton, 1  75 

The  Pride  of  Life.     A  Story  of  the  Heart.     By  Lady  Jnne  Scott,....  1  75 

The  Lost  Beauty.     By  a  Noted  Lady  of  the  Spanish  Court 1  75 

Rome  and  the  Papacy.  A  History  of  tbe  Men,  Manners  and  Tempo 
ral  Government  of  Rome  in  the  Nineteenth  Century, 1  75 

Above  books  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

g^  Above  Books  will  be  sent, postage  paid,  on  Receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.   5 
WORKS  BY  THE  VERY  BEST  AUTHORS. 

The  following  books  are   each    issued    in    one   large   duodecimo  volume, 
bound  in  cloth,  at  $1.75  each,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover  at  $1.50  each. 
The  Count  of  Monte-Cristo.     By  Alexander  Duma?.     Illustrated,...$l  75 
The  Countess  of  Monte-Cristo.     Paper  cover,  price  $1.00;  or  cloth,..  1  75 

Camillc;   or,  the  Fate  of  a  Coquette.     By  Alexander  I)  u  inns, 1  75 

My  Hero.     By  Mrs.  Forrester.     A  Charming  Love  Story, 1  75 

Tlie  Quaker  Soldier.  A  Revolutionary  Romance.  By  Judge  Jones,....  1  75 
The  Man  of  the  World.  An  Autobiography.  By  William  North,...  1  75 
The  Queen's  Favorite;  or,  The  Price  of  a  Crown.  A  Love  Story,...  1  75 

Self  Love;  or,  The  Afternoon  of  Single  and  Married  Life, 1  75 

Memoirs  of  Vidocq,  the  French  Detective.    His  Life  and  Adventures,  1  75 

The  ClySards  of  Clyffe,  by  author  of  "Lost  Sir  Massingberd," 1  75 

Caraors.  "  The  Man  of  the  Second  Empire."  By  Octave  Feuillet,..  1  75 
Life,  Speeches  and  Martyrdom  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Illustrated,..  1  75 


The  Belle  of  Washington.  With  her  Portrait.  By  Mrs.  N.  P.  Lasselle 
Cora  Bolraont;  or,  The  Sincere  Lover.  A  True  Story  of  the  Heart, 
The  Lover's  Trials;  or  Days  before  1776.  By  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Denison 
High  Life  in  Washington.  A  Life  Picture.  By  Mrs.  N.  P.  Lasselle 
The  Beautiful  Widow;  or,  Lodore.  By  Mrs.  Percy  B.  Shelley, 


1  75 

1  75 
1  75 
1  75 
1  75 


Love  and  Money.     By  J.  B.  Jones,  author  of  the  "  Rival  Belles,"...  1  75 

The  Matchmaker.    A  Story  of  High  Life.    By  Beatrice  Reynolds,..  1  75 

The  Brother's  Secret ;  or,  the  Count  De  Mara.     By  William  Godwin,  1  75 

The  Lost  Love.    By  Mrs.  Oliphant,  author  of  "  Margaret  Maitland,"  1   75 

The  Roman  Traitor.     By  Henry  William  Herbert.   A  Roman  Story,  1  75 

The  Bohemians  of  London.     By  Edward  M.  Whitty, 1  75 

The  Rival  Belles;  or,  Life  in  Washington.     By  J.  B.  Jones, 1  75 

The  Devoted  Bride.     A  Story  of  the  Heart.     By  St.  George  Tucker,  1  75 

Love  and  Duty.    By  Mrs.  Hubback,  author  of  "  May  and  December,"  1  75 

Wild  Sports  and  Adventures  in  Africa.     By  Major  W.  C.  Harris,  1  75 

Courtship  and  M.-itrimony.     By  Robert  Morris.     With  a  Portrait,...  1  75 

The  Jealous  Husband.     By  Annette  Marie  Maillard, 1  75 

The  Refugee.      By  Herman  Melville,  author  of  "  Omoo,"  "  Typee,"  1  75 

The  Life,  Writings,  and  Lectures  of  the  late  "  Fanny  Fern," 1  75 

The  Life  and  Lectures  of  Lola  Montez,  with  her  portrait, 1  75 

Wild  Southern  Scenes.     By  author  of  "Wild  Western  Scenes," 1  75 

Currer  Lyle  ;  or,  the  Autobiography  of  an  Actress.  By  Louise  Reeder.  1  75 

Coal,  Coal  Oil,  and  all  other  Minerals  in  the  Earth.     By  Eli  Bowen,  1  75 

The  Cabin  and  Parlor.     By  J.  Thornton  Randolph.     Illustrated, 1  75 

The  Little  Beauty.     A  Love  Story.     By  Mrs.  Grey, 1   75 

Secession,  Coercion,  and  Civil  War.     By  J.  B.  Jones, 1  75 

Lizzie  Glenn  ;  or,  the  Trials  of  a  Seamstress.     By  T.  S.  Arthur, 1  75 

Lady  Maud  ;  or,  the  Wonder  of  Kingswood  Chase.    By  Pierce  Egan,  1  75 

Wilfred  Montressor;  or,  High  Life  in  New  York.     Illustrated, 1  75 

The  Old  Stone  Mansion.  By  C.  J.Peterson,  author  "Kate  Aylesford,"  1  75 

Kate  Aylesford.  By  Chas.  J.  Peterson,  author  "  Old  Stone  Mansion,".  1  75 

Lorrimer  Littlegood,  by  author  "  Harry  Coverdale's  Courtship," 1  75 

The  Earl's  Secret.     A  Love  Story.     By  Miss  Pardoe, 1  75 

The  Adopted  Heir.  By  Miss  Pardoe,  author  of  "The  Earl's  Secret,"  1  75 

Above  books  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 

The  Dead  Secret.    By  Wilkie  Collins,  author  "  The  Crossed  Path,"...  1  50 

The  Crossed  Path  ;  or  Basil.     By  Wilkie  Collins, 1  50 

Indiana.     A  Love  Story.     By  George  Sand,  author  of  "  Consuelo,"  1  50 

Jealousy  ;  or,  Teverino.   By  Georgo  Sand,  author  of  "  Con.suelo,"  etc.  1  50 

Six  Nights  with  the  Wash'ingtonians,  Illustrated.     By  T.  S.  Arthur,  3  50 


^"  Above  Books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  Receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Fa. 


6   T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BP.OTHSHS'  PUBLICATIONS. 
WORKS  BY  THE  VERY  BEST  AUTHORS. 

The  following  books  are  each  issued  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume, 
bound  in  cloth,  at  $1.75  each,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each. 
The  Conscript;  or,  the  Days  of  Napoleon  1st.  By  Alex.  Dumas,. ...$1  75 
Cousin  Harry.  By  Mrs.  Grey,  author  of  "  The  Gambler's  Wife,"  etc.  1  75 
Saratoga.  An  Indian  Tale  of  Frontier  Life.  A  true  Story  of  1787,..  1  75 

Married  at  Last.     A  Love  Story.     By  Annie  Thomas, 1  75 

Shoulder  Straps.     By  Henry  Morford,  author  of  "  Days  of  Shoddy,"  1  75 
Days  of  Shoddy.     By  Henry  Morford,  author  of  "  Shoulder  Straps,"  1  75 

The  Coward.     By  Henry  Morford,  author  of  "  Shoulder  Straps," 1  75 

The  Cavalier.  By  G.  P.  R.James,  author  of  "Lord  Montagu's  Page,"  1  75 

Rose  Foster.     By  Georgo  W.  M.  Reynolds,  Esq., 1  75 

Lord  Montagu's  Page.     By  G.  P.  H.  James,  author  of  "Cavalier,"...  1  75 
Mrs.  Euiuia  D.  E.  N.  Southworth's  Popular  Novels.    38  vols.  in  all,  66  50 

Mrs.  Ann  S.  Stephens'  Celebrated  Novels.  22  volumes  in  all, 38  50 

Miss  Eliza  A.  Dupuy's  Works.     Thirteen  volumes  in  all, 22  25 

Mrs.  Caroline  Lee  Hcntz's  Novels.     Twelve  volumes  in  all, 21   00 

Frederika  Bremer's  Novels.     Six  volumes  in  all, 10  50 

T.  A.  Trollope's  Works.     Seven  volumes  in  all, 12  25 

James  A.  Maitland's  Novels.     Seven  volumes  in  all, 12  25 

Q.  K.  Philander  Doestick's  Novels.     Four  volumes  in  all, ......     7  00 

Cook  Books.     The  best  in  the  world.     Eleven  volumes  in  all, 19  25 

Henry  Morford's  Novels.     Three  volumes  in  all, 5  25 

Mrs.  Henry  Wood's  Novels.     Seventeen  volumes  in  all, 29  75 

Emerson  Bennett's  Novels.     Seven  volumes  in  all, 12  25 

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Mysteries  of  Paris ;  and  its  Sequel,  Gerolstein.     By  Eugene  Sue,....  2  "DO 

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Ten  Thousand  a  Year.     By  Samuel  Warren.     With  Illustrations,....  2  00 

Washington  and  His  Generals.     By  George  Lippard.... 2  00 

The  Quaker  City;  or,  the  Monks  of  Monk  Hall.     By  George  Lippard,  2  00 

Blanche  of  Brandywine.     By  George  Lippard, 2  00 

Paul  Ardenheim;  the  Monk  of  Wissahickon.     By  George  Lippard,.  2  00 

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T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.  7 
NEW  AND  GOOD  BOOKS  BY  BEST  AUTHORS. 

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i  •  •  •  > 

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8    T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


NEW  AND  GOOD  BOOKS  BY  BEST  AUTHORS. 

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Letters  from  Europe.    By  Colonel  John  W,  Forney.  Bound  in  cloth,  1  75 

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T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.     9 
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The  follotcing   are  cloth  editions  of  the  following  good  books,  and  they  ar« 

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Lord  Saxondale;  or  the  Court  of  Queen  Victoria.    By  Reynolds, 1  75 

Count  Christoval.    Sequel  to  "  Lord  Saxondale."     By  Reynolds, 1  75 

Rosa  Lambert;  or  Memoirs  of  an  Unfortunate  Woman.  By  Reynolds,  1  75 
Mary  Price;  or  the  Adventures  of  a  Servant  Maid.  By  Reynolds,...  1  75 
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Within  the  Maze.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of  "  East  Lynne,".  1  75 
Dene  Hollow.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of"  Within  the  Mnze,"  1  75 
Bessy  Rane.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of  "  The  Channings,"....  1  75 
George  Canterbury's  Will.  By  Mrs.  Wood,  author  "Oswald  Cray,"  1  75 
The  Channings.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of  "  Dene  Hollow,"...  1  75 

Roland  Yorke.     A  Sequel  to  "  The  Channings."    By  Mrs.  Wood, 1  75 

Shadow  of  Ashlydyatt.    By  Mrs.  Wood,  author  of  "  Bessy  Rane," 1  75 

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Verner's  Pride.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of  "The  Channings,"  1  75 
The  Castle's  Heir;  or  Lady  Adelaide's  Oath.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  1  75 
Oswald  Cray.  By  Mrs.  Henry  Wood,  author  of  "Roland  Yorke,"....  1  75 

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CHAKLES  DICKENS'  WORKS. 

*f  GREAT    REDUCTION    IN    THEIR    PRICES. -» 


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fine  paper,  large  clear  type,  and  Two  Hundred  Illustrations  on  tinted  prtper. 
Price  $44  a  set,  and  each  set  put  up  in  a  neat  and  strong  box.  This  it 
the  handsomest  and  best  edition  ever  published  for  the  price, 

ILLUSTRATED  DUODECIMO  EDITION. 

Reduced   in  price  from    $2.00  to   $1.50  a  volume. 

This  edition  is  printed  on  the  finest  paper,  from  large,  clear  type,  leaded, 
that  all  can  read,  containing  Six  Hundred  full  page  Illustrations,  on 
tinted  paper,  from  designs  by  Cruikshank,  Phiz,  Browne,  Macline, 
McLenan,  and  other  artists.  This  is  the  only  edition  published  that  con- 
taint  all  the  original  illustrations,  as  selected  by  Mr.  Charles  Dickens. 
The  following  are  each  contained  in  two  volumes. 


Our  Mutual  Friend, Cloth,  $3.00 

Pickwick  Papers, Cloth,  3.00 

Tale  of  Two  Cities, Cloth,  3.00 

Nicholas  Nickleby, Cloth,  3.00 

David  Copperfield, Cloth,  3.00 

Oliver  Twist, Cloth,  3.00 

Christmas  Stories, Cloth,  3.00 


Bleak  House, Cloth,  $3.00 

Sketches  by  "Boz," Cloth,  3.00 

Barnaby  Rudge, Cloth,  3.00 

Martin  Chuzzlewit, Cloth,  3.00 

Old  Curiosity  Shop, Cloth,  3.00 

Little  Dorrit, Cloth,  3.00 

Dombey  and  Son, Cloth,  3.00 


The  following  are  each  complete  in  one  volume. 

Great  Expectations, $1.50  |  Dickens'  New  Stories,. ..Cloth,  $1.50 

Mystery  of  Edwin  Drood;  and  Master  Humphrey's  Clock,. ...Cloth,     1.50 

American  Notes;  and  the  Uncommercial  Traveller, Cloth,     1.50 

Hunted  Down  :  and  other  Reprinted  Pieces, Cloth,     1.50 

The  Holly-Tree  Inn;  and  other  Stories Cloth,     1.50 

The  Life  and  Writings  of  Charles  Dickens, Cloth,     2.00 

John  Jasper's  Secret.     Sequel  to  Mystery  of  Edwin  Drood,. ..Cloth,     2.00 

Price  of  a  set,  in  thirty-six  volumes,  bound  in  cloth, $55.00 

"  "        Full  sheep,  Library  style 74.00 

"  "        Half  calf,  antique,  or  half  calf,  full  gilt  backs,  etc.  108.00 


«S- GREAT   REDUCTION  IN  THEIR  PRICES. 


ILLUSTRATED  OCTAVO  EDITION. 

Reduced  in  price  from  $2.50  to  $1.75  a  volume. 

Thii  edition  it  printed  from  large  type,  double  column,  octavo  page,  each 
book  being  complete  in  one  volume,  the  whole  containing  near  Six  Hundred 
Illustration,  by  Cruikshank,  Phiz,  Browne,  Maclise,  and  other  arti»t*. 

Our  Mutual  Friend, Cloth,  $1.75    David  Copperfield, Cloth,  $1.75 

Pickwick  Papers, Cloth, 

Nicholas  Nickleby, Cloth, 

Great  Expectations, Cloth, 

Lamplighter's  Story,.... Cloth, 


Oliver  Twist, Cloth, 

Bleak  House, Cloth, 

Little  Dorrit, Cloth, 

Domboy  and  Son, Cloth, 

Sketcheg  by  "  Boz," Cloth, 


1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 


Barnaby  Rudge, Cloth, 

Martin  Chuzzlewit, Cloth, 

Old  Curiosity  Shop, Cloth, 


Christmas  Stories, Cloth, 

Dickens'  New  Stories,... Cloth, 
A  Tale  of  Two  Cities,. ..Cloth, 
American  Notes  and 

Pic-Nio  Papers, Cloth,    1.75 


1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 


Price  of  a  set,  in  Black  cloth,  in  eighteen  volumes, $31.50 

"         "          Full  sheep,  Library  style, 40.00 

"        "          Half  calf,  sprinkled  edges, 48.00 

"        "          Half  calf,  marbled  edges, 54.00 

"        "          Half  calf,  antique,  or  Half  calf,  full  gilt  backs,...    60.00 

"NEW  NATIONAL  EDITION"  OF  DICKENS'  WORKS. 

This  is  the  cheapest  bound  edition  of  the  works  of  Charles  Dickens,  pub 
lished,  all  his  writings  being  contained  in  seven  large  octavo  volumes, 
with  a  portrait  of  Charles  Dickens,  and  other  illustrations. 

Price  of  a  set,  in  Black  cloth,  in  seven  volumes, $20.00 

«  "         Full  sheep,  Library  style, 25.00 

"  "         Half  calf,  antique,  or  Half  calf,  full  gilt  backs,...   30.00 

CHEAP  PAPEE  COVER  EDITION  OF  DICKENS'  WOEKS. 

Each  book  being  complete  in  one  large  octavo  volume. 


Pickwick  Papers, 50 

Nicholas  Nickleby, 50 

Doinbey  and  Son, 50 

Our  Mutual  Friend, 50 

David  Copperfield, 50 

Martin  Chuzzlewit, 50 

Old  Curiosity  Shop, 50 

Oliver  Twist, 50 

American  Notes, 25 

Hard  Times, 25 

A  Tule  of  Two  Cities, 25 

Somebody's  Luggage, 25 

Mrs.  Lirriper's  Lodgings, 25 

Mrs.  Lirriper's  Legacy, 25 

Mugby  Junction, 25 

Dr.  Marigold's  Prescriptions,...  25 

Mystery  of  Edwin  Drood, 25 

Message  from  the  Sea, 25 


Bleak  House, 50 

Little  Dorrit, 50 

Christmas  Stories, 50 

Barnaby  Rudge, 60 

Sketches  by  "Boz," 50 

Great  Expectations, 50 

Joseph  Grimaldi, 60 

The  Pic-Nic  Papers, 50 

The  Haunted  House, 25 

Uncommercial  Traveller, 25 

A  House  to  Let, 25 

Perils  of  English  Prisoners, 25 

Wreck  of  the  Golden  Mary, 25 

Tom  Tiddler's  Ground, 25 

Dickens'  New  Stories, >. 25 

Lnzy  Tour  Idle  Apprentices, 25 

The  Holly-Tree  Inn, 25 

No  Thoroughfare, 25 


Hunted  Down;  and  Other  Reprinted  Pieces, 50 

THE  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  CHARLES  DICKENS. 
THE  LIFE  OF  CHARLES  DICKENS.  By  Dr.  R.  Shelton  Mackenzie, 
containing  a  full  history  of  his  Life,  his  Uncollected  Pieces,  in  Prose 
and  Verse;  Personal  Recollections  and  Anecdotes;  His  Last  Will  in 
full ;  and  Letters  from  Mr.  Dickens  never  before  published.  With 
a  Portrait  and  Autograph  of  Charles  Dickens.  Price  $2.00.  (11) 


12    T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


ALEXANDER  DUMAS'  WORKS. 


Count  of  Monte-Cristo, $1  50 

Edmond  Dantes, 75 

The  Three  Guardsmen, 75 

Twenty  Years  After, 75 

Bragelonne, 75 

The  Iron  Miisk, 1  00 

Louise  La  Vail iere, 1  00 

Diana  of  Meridor, 1  00 

Adventures  of  a  Marquis,  1  00 

Love  and  Liberty,  (175>2-'93)..  1  50 


Memoirs  of  a  Physician, $1  00 

Queen's  Necklace, 1  00 

Six  Years  Later, 1  00 

Countess  of  Charny, 1  00 

Andree  de  Taverney, 1  00 

The  Chevalier, 1  00 

Forty-five  Guardsmen, 1  00 

The  Iron  Hand, 1  00 

The  Conscript, 1  50 

Countess  of  Monte-Cristo, 1  00 


Camille;  or,  The  Fate  of  a  Coquette,  (La  Dame  Aux  Camelias,) 1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 


The  Mohicans  of  Paris, 75 

The  Horrors  of  Paris, 75 

The  Fallen  Angel, 75 

Felina  de  Chambure, 75 

Sketches  in  France, 75 

Isabel  of  Bavaria, 75 

Twin  Lieutenants, 75 

Man  with  Five  Wives, 75 


75 
50 


Annette ;  or,  Lady  of  Pearls,... 

George ;  or,  Isle  of  France, 

Madame  De  Chamblay 50 

The  Black  Tulip, 60 

The  Corsican  Brothers, 50 

The  Count  of  Moret,. 


50 


The  Marriage  Verdict, 50 

Buried  Alive, 25 


GEORGE  W.  M.  REYNOLDS'  WORKS. 


Mysteries  Court  of  London,. ...$1  00 

Rose  Foster 1  60 

Caroline  of  Brunswick, 1  00 

Venetia  Trelawney, 1  00 

Lord  Saxondale, 1  00 

Count  Christoval, 1  00 

Rosa  Lambert, 1  00 

Wallace,  the  Hero  of  Scotland,.  1  00 


Mary  Price, $1  00 

Eustace  Quentin, 1  00 

Joseph  Wilmot, 1  00 

Banker's  Daughter, 1  00 

Kenneth, 1  00 

The  Rye-House  Plot, 1  00 

The  Necromancer, 1  00 

The  Gipsy  Chief, 1  00 


The  Mysteries  of  the  Court  of  Nnples,  full  of  Illustrations 1  00 

Robert  Bruce,  the  Hero- King  of  Scotland,  full  of  Illustrations, 1  00 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 


Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,..  75 

The  Opera  Dancer, 75 

Child  of  Waterloo, 75 

Isabella  Vincent, 75 

Vivian  Bertram, 75 

.....  75 

75 

Massacre  of  Glencoe, 75 

Loves  of  the  Harem, 75 

75 


Countess  of  Lascelles, 
Duke  of  Marchmont,, 


The  Soldier's  Wife, 


Ellen  Percy, 75 

Agnes  Evelyn, 75 

Pickwick  Abroad, 75 

Parricide, 75 

Discarded  Queen, 75 

Life  in  Paris, 60 

The  Countess  and  the  Page,....  60 

Edgar  Montrose, 60 

The  Ruined  Gamester, 50 

Clifford  and  the  Actress, 50 


May  Middleton, 75 

Ciprina ;  or,  the  Mysteries  and  Secrets  of  a  Picture  Gallery,. 


50 


MISS  PARDOE'S  POPULAR  WORKS. 


The  Rival  Beauties, 75 

Romance  of  the  Harem, 75 


Confessions  of  a  Pretty  Woman,       75 

The  Wife's  Trials, 75 

The  Jealous  Wife, 50 

The  five  above  books  are  also  bound  in  one  volume,  cloth,  for  $4.00. 

The  Adopted  Heir.     One  volume,  paper,  $1.50;  or  in  cloth, $1  75 

The  Earl's  Secret.    One  volume,  paper,  $1.50  ;  or  in  cloth,  1  75 


giT  Above  books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.   13 


CHARLES  LEVER'S  BEST  WORKS. 


Chnrles  O'Malley, 75 

Hurry  Lorrequer, 75 

Jack   Hinton, 75 

Torn  Burke  of  Ours, 75 

Kuitrht  of  Gwynno, 75 


Arthur  O'Leary, 75 

Con  Crogan, 75 

Davenport  Dunn, 75 

Horace  Templeton, 75 

Kate  O'Donoghue, 75 


Above  are  in  paper  cover,  or  a  fine  edition  is  in  cloth  at  $2.00  eacb. 
A  Rent  in  a  Cloud, 50  |  St.  Patrick's  Eve, 50 

Ten  Thousand  a  Year,  in  one  volume,  paper  cover,  $1.50;  or  in  cloth,  2  00 
The  Diary  of  a  Medical  Student,  by  author  "  Ten  Thousand  a  Year,"       75 

MRS.  HENRY  WOOD'S  BEST  BOOKS. 


The  Master  of  Qreylands, $1  50 

Within  the  Maze, 1  50 

Dene  Hollow, 1  50 

Bessy  Kane 1  50 

George  Canterbury's  Will, 1  50 

Verner's  Pride, 1  50 

The  Channings, 1  50 


The  Shadow  of  Aslilydyat, $1  50 

Squire  Trevlyn's  Heir, 1  50 

Oswald  Cray, 1  50 

Mildred  Arkell, 1   50 

The  Red  Court  Farm, 1  50 

E liter's  Folly, 1  50 

Saint  Martin's  Eve, 1  50 


Roland  Yorke.     A  Sequel  to  "  The  Channinijs," 1  50 

Lord  Oakburn's  Daughters  ;  or,  The  Earl's  Heirs, 1  50 

The  Castle's  Heir ;  or,  Lady  Adelaide's  Oath, 1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 

The  Mystery 75|  A  Life's  Secret, 50 

The  Lost  Bank  Note, 50;  The  Haunted  Tower, 50 

The   Lost  Will 50   The  Runaway  Match, 25 


Orville  College 50 

Five  Thousand  a  Year,  25 

The  Diamond  Bracelet,  25 

Clara  Lake's  Dream,  25 

The  Nobleman's  Wife, 25 

Frances  Hildyanl, 25 


Martyn  Ware's  Temptations,..       25 

The  Dean  of  Denhatn,.. 25 

Foggy  Night  at  Offord, 25 


William  Allair., 

A  Light  and  a  Dark  Christmas, 

The  Smuggler's  Ghost, 25 


25 
25 


EUGENE  SUE'S  GREAT  WORKS. 


First  Love. 


50 

Woman's  Love, 50 

Female  Bluebt-ard, 50 

Man-of-War's-Man,...  50 


The  Wandering  Jew, $1  50 

The  Mysteries  of  Paris, 1  50 

Martin,  the  Foundling, 1  50 

Above  are  in  cloth  at  $2.00  each. 
Life  and  Adventures  of  llaoul  de  Surville.     A  Tale  of  the  Empire,...       25 

CHARLES  J.  PETERSON'S  WORKS. 

The  Old  Stone  Mansion, §1   50  I  Kate  Aylesford, $1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 

Cruising  in  the  Last  War, 75  I  Grace  Dudley;  or,  Arnold  at 

Valley  Farm, 251      Saratoga, 50 

WILLIAM  H.  MAXWELL'S  WORKS. 

Wild  Sports  of  the  West, 75  I  Brian  O'Lynn, 75 

Stories  of  Waterloo 75  I  Life  of  Grace  O'Malley, 50 

MISS   BRADDON'S   WORKS. 

Aurora  Floyd 75  I  The  Lawyer's  Secret, 25 

Aurora  Floyd,  cloth 1  00  |  For  Better,  For  Worse, 75 


Above  boobs  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


14    T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


HUMOROUS  AMERICAN  WORKS. 

Beautifully  Illiittrated  by  Felix  0.  C.  Darley. 

Major  Jones' Courtship, 75,  Drama  in  Pokerville, 75 

Major  Jones' Travels, 75  I  The  Quorndon   Hounds, 75 

Simon  Suggs' Adventures  and  My  Shooting  Box, 75 


Travels, 75 

Major    Jones'    Chronicles    of 
Pineville, 75 


Polly  Peablossom's  Wedding,.. 
Mysteries  of  the  Backwoods,... 
Widow  Rugby's  Husband, 


75 
75 
75 

Big  Bear  of  Arkansas 75 

Western  Scenes;  or,  Life  on 

the  Prairie, 75 

Streaks  of  Squatter  Life, 75 

Pickings  from  the  Picayune,...  75 
Stray  Subjects,  Arrested  and 

Bound  Over, 75 

Louisiana  Swamp  Doctor, 75 

Charcoal  Sketches, 75 

Misfortunes  of  Peter  Faber,....  75 
Yankee  among  the  Mermaitls,..  75 
New  Orleans  Sketch  Book, 75 


Warwick  Woodlands, 75 

The  DeerStalkers, 75 

Peter  Ploddy, 75 

Adventuresof  Captain  Farrago,  75 
M;ijor  O'Regun's  Adventures,..  75 
Sol.  Smith's  Theatrical  Appren 
ticeship, 75 

Sol.  Smith's  Theatrical  Jour 
ney- Work, 75 

The  Quarter  Racein  Kentucky,  75 

Aunt  Patty's  Scrap  Bag, 75 

Percival    Mayberry's    Adven 
tures  and  Travels, 75 

Sam  Slick's  Yankee  Yarns  and 

Yankee  Letters, 75 

Adventures  of  Fudge  Fumble,.  75 

American  Joe  Miller, 50 

Following  the  Drum, 50 


FRANK  FAIRLEGH'S  WORKS. 

Frank  Fairlegh, 75  I  Harry  Racket  Scapegrace, 75 

Lewis  Arundel, 75  I  Tom  Racquet,.. 75 

Finer  editions  of  the  above  are  also  issued  in  cloth,  at  $1.75  ciich. 
Harry  Coverdale's    Courtship,  1  50  |  Lorrimer  Littlegood, 1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 
The  Colville  Family.     By  author  of  "  Frank  Fairlegh," 50 

WILLIAM  HARRISON  AINSWORTETS  WORKS. 

Life  of  Jack  Sheppard, 50  i  Life  of  Dick  Turpin, 50 


Life  of  Guy  Fawkes, 75 

Court  of  the  Stuarts, 75 

Windsor  Castle, 75 

The  Star  Chamber, 75 

Old  St.  Paul's, 75 

Courtof  Queen  Anne, 50 


Life  of  Davy  Crockett, 50 

Life  of  Grace  O'Malley, 50 

Desperadoes  of  the  NewWorld,  50 

Life  of  Henry  Thomas 25 

Life  of  Ninon  De  L'Enclos,....  25 

Life  of  Arthur  Spring 25 

The  Tower  of  London,  with  93  illustrations,  paper  cover,  1.50,  cloth,  2  50 

The  Miser's  Daughter,  paper  cover,  1.00.  or  in  cloth, 1   75 

Lives  of  Jack  Sheppard  and  Guy  Fawkes,  in  one  volume,  cloth, 1  75 

MISS  ELLEN  PICKERING'S  WORKS. 


The  Grumbler, 75 

Marrying  for  Money, 75 

Poor  Cousin,., 


50 


Kate  Walsingham,  ...............       50 

Orphan  Niece,  .....................       50 


Who  Shall  be  Heir?.. 


38 


The  Squire, 33  |  Ellen  Wareham, 38  |  Nan  Darrel, 38 


SAMUEL  WARREN'S  BEST  BOOKS. 


Ten  Thousand  a  Year,  paper,. .$1  50 
Ten  Thousand  a  Year,  cloth,...  2  00 


The  Diary  of  a  Medical   Stu 
dent, 


75 


J&*  Above  Books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Fa. 


T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS.   15 


T.  S.  ARTHUR'S  HOUSEHOLD  NOVELS. 


The  Lost  Bride, 50 

The  Two  Brides, 60 

Love  in  a  Cottage, 60 

Love  in  High  Life,. 


Year  after  Marriage, 60 

The  Lady  at  Home, 60 

Cecelia  Howard, 60 

Orphan  Children 60 

Debtor's  Daughter, 50 

Mavy  Moretun, 50 


The  Divorced  Wife, $0 

Pride  and  Prudence, 50 

Agnes;  or,  the  Possessed, 60 

Lucy  Saudford, 60 

The  Banker's  Wife, 50 

The  Two  Merchants, 50 

Trial  and  Triumph, 50 

The  Iron  Rule, 50 

Insubordination;  or,  the  Shoe 
maker's  Daughters, 50 


Six  Nights  with  the  Washingtonians  ;  and  other  Temperance  Tales. 
By  T.  S.  Arthur.  With  original  Illustrations,  by  George  Cruik- 
shank.  One  large  octavo  volume,  bound  in  beveled  boards,  price. ..$3. 50 

Lizzy  Glenn;  or,  the  Trials  of  a  Seamstress.    Cloth  $1.75;  or  paper,  1.50 

MRS.  GREY'S  CELEBRATED  NOVELS. 

Cousin  Harry, $1  50  |  The  Little  Beauty, $1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 


A  Marriage  in  High  Life, 50 

Gipsy's  Daughter, 50 

Old  Dower  House, 60 

Belle  of  the  Family, 50 

Duke  and  Cousin, 50 

The  Little  Wife, 50 

Lena  Cameron, 50 

Sybil  Lennard, 50 

Manoeuvring  Mother 50 


The  Baronet's  Daughters, 50 

Young  Prima  Donna, 60 

Hyacinthe, 25 

Alice  Seymour 25 

Mary  Seahnm, 75 

Passion  and  Principle, 75 

The  Flirt, 75 

Good  Society, 75 

Lion-Hearted, 75 


G.  P.  R.  JAMES'S  BEST  BOOKS. 

Lori  Montague's  Page, $1  50  |  The  Cavalier....... $1  50 

The  above  are  each  in  paper  cover,  or  in  cloth,  price  $1.75  each. 

Tha  Man  in  Black 75  I  Arrah  Neil, 75 

Mary  of  Burgundy, 75  I  Eva  St.  Clair, 60 

CAPTAIN  MARRY  ATT' S  WORKS. 

Newton  Forster, 50 

King's  Own 50 

Pirate  and  Three  Cutters, 50 

Peter  Simple, 50 

Pfrcival  Keene, 50 


Jatob  Faithful 50 

Japhet  in  Search  of  a  Father,..  50 

Phantom  Ship 50 

Midshipman  Easy, 50 

P^cha  of  Many  Talcs, 50 

Frank  Mildmay,  Naval  Officer,  50 


Snarleyow, 50 


Poor  Jack, 60 

Sea  King, 50 


REVOLUTIONARY  TALES. 


The  Brigand 50 

Ralph  Runnion, 50 


Old  Put:  or.  Days  of  1776,  .....       50 
Legends  of  Mexico,  ...............       50 


Grace  Dudley, 

The  Guerilla  Chief, 

The  Quaker  Soldier,  paper, 


do.        cloth,  .....  1 


Seven  Brothers  of  Wyoming,..  50 

The  Rebel  Bride, 50 

The  Flying  Artillerist, 50 

Wuu-nan-gee, 50  do. 

J.  F.  SMITH'S  WORKS. 

The     Usurer'*     Victim;     or,  [Adelaide  Waldegrnve;  or,  the 

Thomas  Balscombe. 75  I      Trials  of  a  Governess, 


50 


75 


lUf  Above  books  will  be  sent,  postage  paid,  on  Receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


16   T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


GEORGE  LIPI 

The  Quaker  City,  H 

AR] 

H    50 
1  50 
1  50 

1   50 
1  00 

7G 

75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
50 
,F0 

D'S  GREAT  BOOKS. 

The  Eiupiro  City,  

75 
75 
75 
75 
60 
25 
25 
25 

50 
60 
50 
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25 
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25 
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25 
25 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
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59 
50 
50 
50 
50 

Blanche  of  JBrandywine,  

The  Nazarene,  

Washington  and  his  Generals; 
or,  Legends  of  the  American 

Washington  and  his  Men,  
Legends  of  Mexico,  

Mysteries  of  Florence,  

The  Robbers,  

Above  in  cloth  at  $2.00  each. 

EXCITI1 

Adventures  of  Ben  Brace,  
Jack  Adams,  the  Mutineer,.... 
Jack  Ariel's  Adventures,  
Petrel  ;  or,  Life  on  the  Ocean,. 
Life  of  Paul  Periwinkle,....!... 
Life  of  Tom  Bowling,  

The  Dank  Director's  Son,  

SEA  TALES. 

Harry  Tempest,  
Rebel  and  Rover,  

Man-of-War's-Man,  
Dark  Shades  of  City  Life,  
The  Rats  of  the  Seine,. 

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Japhet,  

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25 
25 


25 


25 
25 

25 
75 
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uniform  edition  of  all  the  celebrated  Novels  written  by  Mrs. 
CAROLINE  LEE  HENTZ,  in  twelve  large  duodecimo  volumes.  They 
are  printed  on  the  finest  paper,  and  bound  in  the  most  beautiful 
style,  in  Green  Morocco  cloth,  with  a  new,  full  gilt  back,  and 
sold  at  the  low  price  of  $1.75  each,  in  Morocco  cloth;  or  in 
paper  cover,  at  $1.50  each  ;  or  a  complete  set  of  the  twelve  vol 
umes,  in  Morocco  cloth,  will  be  sent  to  any  one,  to  any  place,  free 
of  postage,  on  receipt  of  Twenty  Dollars,  by  the  publishers. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  volumes  : 

LINDA;  OB,  THE  YOUNG  PILOT  OF  THE  BELLE  CREOLE.    With 
a  complete  Biography  of  Mrs.  Caroline  Lee  Hentz. 

ROBERT    GRAHAM.     A  Sequel   to   "  Linda ;   or,  The  Young  Pilot 
of  the  Belle  Creole." 

BEN  A ;  or,  THE  SNOW  BIED.    A  Tale  of  Real  Life. 
MARCUS  WABLAND;  or,  The  Long  Moss  Spring. 
EBNEST  LINWOOD ;  or,  The  Inner  Life  of  the  Author. 
EOLINE;  or,  MAGNOLIA  VALE;   or,  The  Heiress  of    Glenmore. 

THE  PLANTEB'S  NORTHERN  BRIDE;  or,  Scenes  ia  Mrs.  Heutz's 
Childhood. 

HELEN  AND  ARTHUR;  or,  Miss  Thus  a' s  Spinning- Wheel. 

COURTSHIP    AND    MARRIAGE;    or,   The   Joys    and    Sorrow!  of 
American  Life. 

LOVE  AFTEB  MABBIAGE;  and  other  Stories  of  the  Heart. 
THE  LOST  DAUGHTER ;  and  other  Stories  of  the  Heart. 
THE  BANISHED  SON ;  and  other  Stories  of  the  Heart. 

The  above  twelve  books  have  proved  to  be  the  most  popular 
series  of  Novels  ever  issued  in  this  country,  as  they  are  written 
by  one  of  the  most  popular  Female  Novelists  that  ever  lived. 

Each  of  the  above  twelve  books  are  complete  in  one  volume, 
duodecimo,  bound  in  Green  Morocco  Cloth,  with  a  new,  full  gilt 
back,  price  $1.75  each  ;  or  a  complete  set,  done  up  in  a  neat 
box,  for  $20.00  ;  or  each  book  is  done  up  in  paper  cover,  prica 
$1.50  each  ;  or  $17.00  for  a  complete  set. 

Address  all  orders,  at  once,  to  receive  immediate  and  prompt 
attention,  for  all  or  any  of  the  above  books,  to  the  Publishers, 

T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 

No.  306  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


AUTHOR'S  NEW  EDITION  OF  "  THE  HOUSEHOLD  OP  BOUVERIE." 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVERIE ; 

OR, 

THE   ELIXIR   OF   GOLD. 
BY    MRS.    C.    A.    WARFIELD. 

Author  of  "  A  Double  Wedding ;  or,  How  She  Was  Won." 
AUTHOR'S  NEW,  COMPLETE  AND  UNIFORM  EDITION. 

Complete  in   One  Large  Duodecimo  Volume   of  8OO  pages. 
Sound  in  Morocco  Cloth,  Full  Gilt  Sack.    Price  $1.75. 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVERIE. 

"THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVEKIE;  OR,  THE  ELIXIR  OF  GOLD,"  by  Mrs. 
C.  A.  Warfield,  being  the  first  volume  of  the  Author's  New  Edition  of  Mrs.  Warfield't 
celebrated  Works,  is  published  this  day.  It  is  complete  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume 
of  Eight  Hundred  pages,  containing  the  whole  of  the  two  volumes  as  originally 
published,  both  volumes  being  now  complete  in  one,  and  sold  at  the  low  price  of  $1.75 
for  the  complete  work,  in  place  of  $2.00  as  formerly. 

From  Marion  Harland,  author  of  "Alone,"  "Hidden  Path,"  etc. 
"As  to  Mrs.  Warfield's  wonderful  book,  the  '  Household  of  Bouverie,'  I  have  rend  it 
twice — the  second  time  more  carefully  than  the  first — and  I  use  the  term  'wonderful,' 
because  it  best  expresses  the  feeling  uppermost  in  my  mind,  both  while  reading  and 
thinking  it  over.  As  a  piece  of  imaginative  writing,  I  have  seen  nothing  to  equal  it 
since  the  days  of  Edgar  A.  Poe,  and  I  doubt  whether  he  could  have  sustained  himself 
and  the  reader  through  a  book  of  half  the  size  of  the  '  Household  of  Bouverie.'  I  was 
literally  hurried  through  it  by  my  intense  sympathy,  my  devouring  curiosity — it  was 
more  than  interest.  I  read  everywhere — between  the  courses  of  the  hotel-table,  on 
the  boat,  in  the  cars — until  I  had  swallowed  the  last  line.  This  is  no  common  occur 
rence  with  a  veteran  romance  reader  like  myself." 

From  George  Ripley's  Review  of  "  Tlie  Household  of  Bouverie"  in  Harper's  Magazine. 
"'The  Household  of  Bouverie '  betrays  everywhere  a  daring  boldness  of  conception, 
singular  fertility  of  illustration,  and  a  combined  beauty  and  vigor  of  expression,  which 
It  would  be  difficult  to  match  in  any  recent  works  of  fiction.  In  these  days,  when  the 
most  milk-ancl-watery  platitudes  are  so  often  welcomed  as  sibylline  inspirations,  it  is 
somewhat  refreshing  to  meet  with  a  female  novel-writer  who  displays  the  unmistakable 
fire  of  genius,  however  terrific  its  brightness." 


jR^"  The  Author's  New  Edition  of  "The  Household  of  Bouverie"  is  for  sale  by  all 
Booksellers ;  or  copies  of  it  will  be  sent  at  once  to  any  one,  to  any  place,  postage  pre 
paid,  on  remitting  the  price  of  the  work,  $1.75,  in  a  letter,  to  the  Publishers, 
T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 

306  CHESTNUT  STKEET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


AH  ENTIRE  SEW  BOOK,  BY  MRS.  C.  A.  WARFIELD. 


IN  PRESS  AM)  WILL  BE  ISSUED  SHORTLY. 


HESTER  HOWARD'S  TEMPTATIONS. 

BY  MRS.  C.  A.  WARFIELD. 

Author  of  "  A  Double  Wedding ;  or,  How  She  Was  Won,"  "  The  Household  of 
Bouverie ;  or,  The  Elixir  of  Gold,"  etc. 

Complete  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume,  cloth,  price  $1.75. 

T.  B.  PETERSON  <fe  BKOTHERS,  Philadelphia,  have  concluded  an  arrangement 
with  MRS.  WARFIELD,  the  author  of  "THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVKR1K,"  by 
which  they  have  become  the  future  publishers  of  all  her  works,  and  they  have  now  in 
press  and  will  shortly  issue  an  Entire  New  Work  from  her  pen,  under  the  title  of 
"  H  ESTER  HOWARD'S  TEMPTATIONS,"  which  she  has  been  engaged  in  writing  and 
preparing  for  the  press  for  the  last  eighteen  months.  This  work  hus  been  pronounced 
by  critics  who  have  read  it  in  manuscript,  to  be  fully  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  her 
celebrated  work,  "  The  Household  of  Bouverie."  It  will  be  issued  in  one  large 
duodecimo  volume,  in  uniform  style  and  size  with  "  A  Double  Wedding;  or,  How 
She  Was  Won,"  and  with  "The  Household  of  Bouverie,"  etc.,  and  be  bound  in 
morocco  cloth,  gilt  side  and  back,  price  $1.75. 

AUTHOH'S  EDITION  OF  MRS.  W'ARFIELD'S  BOOKS. 

T.  B.  PETEKSON  &  BROTHERS  have  in  press,  and  will  issue  at  once,  the  Author't 
ffew  and  Revised  Edition  of  all  of  Mrs.  Warfield's  celebrated  Works.  Each  book  will 
be  complete  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume,  and  be  printed  on  the  finest  white 
paper,  and  bound  in  morocco  cloth,  gilt  back  and  side,  and  published  at  the  low  price 
of  $1.75  a  volume,  in  place  of  $2.00  a  volume,  as  formerly. 

THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  BOUVERIE. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Author's  New  EtUlinn  of  Mrs.  WarfieliVs  Works  is  published 
this  day,  being  "THE  HOUSEHOLD  or  BOUVERIE;  OR,  THE  ELIXIR  OF  GOLD."  It  ig 
complete  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume  of  Eight  Hundred  pages,  containing  the 
whole  of  the  two  volumes  as  originally  published,  both  volumes  being  now  complete 
in  one,  and  sold  at  the  low  price  of  $1.75  for  the  complete  work. 

A  DOUBLE  •WEDDING;  OR,  HOW  SHE  WAS  WON. 
A  DOUBLE  WEDDING;  OR,  HOW  SHE  WAS  WON.    An  Entire  New  Work,  by 
Mr)  C.  A.  Wiirfield,  author  of  "  The  Household  of  Bouverie,"  is  just  published,  complete 
in  one  large  duodecimo  volume,  bound  in  morocco  cloth,  gilt  back  and  side,  price  $1.75. 


J&3"  Above  books  are  for  sale  by  all  Booksellers.  Copies  of  either  one,  or  all  of 
the  above  books,  will  be  sent  at  once  to  any  one,  to  any  place,  postage  pre-puid,  on 
remitting  their  price  to  the  Publishers, 

T.  B.   PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 

306  CHESTNUT  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


